Obituaries : Benny Newton; Ex-Convict Turned Minister, Riot Life-Saver

Benny Newton, 60, an ex-convict turned minister who put his life on the line for a stranger during last year’s riots. The Rev. Newton, minister of the Light of Love Church in Westchester, was at Florence and Normandie avenues, an early flash point of the riots, attempting to calm violent youths when he saw Fidel Lopez dragged from his truck and beaten. Newton covered the man’s body with his own and shouted to the crowd: “Kill him and you have to kill me, too!” Newton prayed over Lopez and drove him to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital, saving his life. Newton, once a gang member who served time in prison, became a minister about 15 years ago but supported himself by running a carpet cleaning business. A native of South-Central Los Angeles who served in the Navy during the Korean War, Newton founded two nonprofit organizations to help inner-city youths after the riots--Project Unity and Operation Assist. On Saturday in Westwood of leukemia.