2 cousins sentenced for murder of U.S. Marine outside LA County bar in 2024
Two men were sentenced to prison for the murder of a U.S. Marine outside a Los Angeles County bar in 2024 after pleading no contest on Thursday.
The incident happened back on May 28, 2024 at around 2 a.m. near Virginia Avenue and Artesia Boulevard in Bellflower, according to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the men who beat 42-year-old Peter Chounthala, a married father of three children and an active-duty U.S. Marine.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigators said that Chounthala had left a bar that night when he was followed by two men who beat him and left him lying in the middle of Artesia Boulevard. He was struck by a car a short time later, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said when announcing charges against the suspects in June 2025.
Chounthala was pronounced dead at the scene and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said that he died from blunt traumatic injuries.
"This brutal and senseless act took the life of a husband, father and Marine who served our country with honor, including tours in Afghanistan and multiple Marine expeditionary units," said LA County DA Nathan Hochman in a statement when the suspects were charged. "We will not tolerate this violence in our communities."
Damari Kensey, 22, of Long Beach, and Jaymel Williams, 29, of Inglewood, were both charged with one count of murder for Chounthala's death. After initially pleading not guilty to charges, both men, who are cousins, pleaded no contest on Thursday and were subsequently sentenced to 11 years in state prison, each.
Investigators are still searching for the driver who struck Chounthala. LASD says that they were driving a dark-colored four-door sedan that resembled a 2021-2023 Kia K5.
Anyone with more information was urged to contact LASD's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.