‘He Died for His Dreams’ : At Slain Guard’s Funeral, His Widow Reflects on His Desire for Peace

There are times when a dream can speak louder than the harshest reality.

Pedro Banegas had a simple one.

“Paz,” Banegas’ wife said softly, reflecting on his life. “Siempre paz.”

Always peace.

For this dream, Banegas, 42, worked relentlessly at Park Parthenia Apartments, trying to rid the sprawling complex of drug dealers, gang members and other criminals.

And for his dream, say friends and co-workers and police, Banegas died--gunned down last Thursday as he left an English class at Reseda High School. Many believe his vigorous anti-crime activity as security chief of the apartments angered some and may be the reason for his killing.

“He died for his dreams,” said his wife, Ana Mercedes Yanes, who was with Banegas when he was killed.

At St. Joseph the Worker Church in Canoga Park where Banegas’ funeral was held on Wednesday, congregants remembered Banegas as a man who stood up for his beliefs.

Father Rigoberto Rodriguez of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Los Angeles, where the couple worshiped, placed Banegas’ death squarely in the context of a declining sense of morals and absence of love in Los Angeles--a lack that has taken many “far from God.”

“Since I’ve been in this country I’ve been to so many funerals, and many funerals don’t make sense to me,” he said. “It’s so hard for me to understand this kind of funeral.

“Pedro wanted to do good for others,” he said. “He wanted to be a good Christian. He really loved God.”

Those who attended the service represented the many strands of Banegas’ life. There were residents of Park Parthenia and other members of the community. Police officers and other officials, including Deputy Chief Martin Pomeroy, filled four rows near the front of the church. Nearly two rows were filled with members of the West Valley Community Advisory Board, clad in white jackets bearing a blue emblem.

“We want his family to know we support his efforts,” said Ellie Vargas, co-chair of the advisory board.

Board members hope the killing will not cause community members to shy from involvement in Neighborhood Watch, said former watch chairman Larry McNally.

From those gathered at the church, a picture of Banegas emerged. Banegas was born and raised in Progreso, Honduras, and was the father of five children, ages 13 to 26, said his sister Reina Banegas of Jersey City, N.J.

There he worked for the Tela Railroad Co., a banana-transporting service, where he fought for better wages and benefits for poor banana workers, his sister said. “He was trying to get a better position for all those people working for that company,” she said.

And it was Banegas who paid for her college education and encouraged her not to give up.

After coming to Los Angeles in about 1990, he graduated from the LAPD’s Spanish Language Community Police Academy. He tried to work with police in resolving community problems, officers said, not placing the responsibility solely in their hands, or attempting to go it alone.

He was a faithful member of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Los Angeles. And he enjoyed soccer, spending much time during the weekend in front of the television pulling for his favorite local team, the Galaxy.

But the danger involved in his anti-crime work was a constant. Though some residents accused him of being overzealous, police Senior Lead Officer Sally Barnes argued that Banegas was fulfilling the demands of his job.

“He was a block captain, but he was also the director of security,” she said. “People sometimes don’t understand direct honesty and they want to bend the truth. He stood for what was right.”

In the days since Banegas’ death, a stillness has hung over Park Parthenia, residents said. Flowers from the funeral were placed at a gate to the apartment complex after the service.

People are “just thinking of him,” said Teresa Ortiz, her eyes brimming with tears. “That’s all. It’s like he gave his life for us.”

Residents should honor that sacrifice and the dedication Banegas displayed “by standing up for what he was standing for,” said co-worker Oscar Aguilar, a security supervisor at Park Parthenia. “This community owes him something,” he said.

Before the close of the service, Father Rodriguez asked the Spanish-speaking congregants to join him in singing “Las Man~anitas,” a song of awakening and rebirth traditionally sung on birthdays and other personal occasions.

And then Rodriguez led English-speakers in a somber chorus of “Happy Birthday,” because through death Banegas has been born into a new life, he said, a life of peace.

On Saturday at 2 p.m. Los Angeles police officers will hold a memorial service in Banegas’ honor at Napa Street Elementary School.

Banegas’ body will be returned to Honduras for a funeral at the home of his parents and burial, his sister said.