Doughnut Vendor Slain in Hold-Up

A vendor known as the “doughnut man” to his customers in Watts was shot to death Tuesday during an apparent robbery attempt, police said.

Enrique Ayala, 28, who was familiar to residents around the Imperial Courts housing project for selling doughnuts and candy from his white van, was shot across the street from the project, said Los Angeles Police Officer Jim Farris.

Witnesses said Ayala had stopped at the intersection of 113th Street and Gorman Avenue along his regular route when a 14-year-old boy and another teen-ager approached the van and demanded money.

Before the victim responded, the 14-year-old fired a single shot, striking Ayala in the chest as he sat in the driver’s seat, Farris said. Ayala was taken to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, where he died.

“The doughnut man was nice,” said a neighbor who asked that her name not be used. “When the kids didn’t have enough money, he would let them go with whatever they did have. I think some of the little ones had credit with him.”