Police are now offering $20,000 to anyone with information about the death of Marine Staff Sgt. Peter Chounthala, 42, who was beaten, left lying in the street and then run over by a passing vehicle in Los Angeles County. (Los Angeles County Sherrif’s Department)
Police are now offering $20,000 to anyone with information about the death of a Marine in Los Angeles County who was beaten, left lying in the street and then run over by a passing vehicle.
Staff Sgt. Peter Chounthala, 42, was assaulted May 28 by at least two men who left him in the street before he was struck by the vehicle, according to the Los Angeles County Sherrif’s Department. Investigators said he was an innocent victim and there were witnesses in the area who might know the identity of the men involved.
“The things that happened can no longer be undone, but some closure would be everything to me at this point,” his wife Jurina Chounthala said during a news conference last week.
She is a master sergeant in the Air Force, and the couple have a 3-year-old son, who she said does not understand what happened — only that his father is no longer present.
Peter Chounthala enlisted in 2008 and served as a postal clerk and tank crew member for the Marines, according to his official service record. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2010.
At the time of his death, he was assigned to the Wounded Warrior Battalion West at Camp Pendleton, Calif., which is a unit for troops who are wounded, ill or injured.
The sheriff’s department has said deputies responded at about 2:02 a.m. to a hit-and-run at the intersection of Virginia Avenue and Artesia Boulevard in Bellflower, where they found Chounthala lying in the street with severe trauma to his upper body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators used surveillance footage and witness information to determine whether Chounthala was beaten and left in the street, and then struck by a dark-colored, 2021 to 2023 Kia K-5 four-door sedan.
The men involved in the assault were last seen walking toward a nearby parking lot, and the driver of the vehicle was last seen traveling eastbound on Artesia Boulevard, according to police.
“We hope the people will have the courage to come forward and help investigators identify the persons responsible for this senseless act of violence and bring closure to the family,” said Lt. Patricia Thomas of the sheriff’s department.
She had no updates as of Tuesday morning.
Bellflower is about an hour north of Camp Pendleton and in southern Los Angeles County.
Jurina Chounthala said her husband grew up in Philadelphia and the two met while they were stationed in Okinawa, Japan. They had been married for 11 years.
He planned to retire from the Marine Corps at the end of the year and become a stay-at-home father.
“It may take one day or 100 years but believe me, they will find you no matter where you are,” said Witpha Chounthala, the Marine’s sister. “Please do the right thing and turn yourself in.”
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. To remain anonymous, people can Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477), use the “P3 Tips” smartphone application or at the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.
