Drug Lord, Employee Get Death in 1988 Ambush That Killed 4

Stanley (Peanut Head) Bryant never fired a shot, but a jury in Downtown Los Angeles on Monday determined that the San Fernando Valley drug lord should die for masterminding a bloody 1988 crack house ambush that killed four people, including a mother and child.

The jury of seven men and five women also delivered two death sentences to Donald (Duke) Smith, an employee of the ruthless, Pacoima-based drug syndicate. The sophisticated, 200-member ring known as the Bryant Family, or simply “the Family,” raked in $500,000 a month during its heyday.

Neither Bryant nor Smith, both 37, showed any reaction as the verdicts were read in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The jury has also recommended death for a third Bryant Family member. LeRoy (Slimm) Wheeler, 26, last week received four death sentences for his role in the crimes.

“It couldn’t have been given to three nicer guys,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Kevin McCormick said.

The death verdicts, delivered three hours apart, climaxed a six-month trial involving the murders of four people at a Lake View Terrace crack house where Bryant Family drug money was counted and bundled.