Two cousins, Damari Kensey and Jaymel Williams, are facing charges of murder in the 2024 killing of U.S. Marine Peter Chounthala, as announced by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. The attack, which prosecutors described as brutal and unwarranted, occurred in the early hours of May 28, 2024, leaving Chounthala fatally injured on a Bellflower roadway, according to KTLA.
Kensey, 21, and Williams, 28, allegedly followed Chounthala from a bar, assaulted him, and left him vulnerable to passing vehicles on Artesia Boulevard. Shortly after the assault, Chounthala was struck by an unidentified motorist who fled the scene and has continued to elude detection by the authorities. "Investigators believe that Mr. Chounthala was an innocent victim of these senseless acts of violence," L.A. County Sheriff's Department Lt. Patricia Thomas said at the time, in a statement obtained by KTLA.
Despite initial challenges in the case, including a stint with no leads or suspect descriptions, prompting a $20,000 reward for information from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, investigators successfully identified and charged the suspects. Both Kensey and Williams are currently being held on $2 million bail each. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman expressed gratitude towards the detectives for their efforts, stating, "We will not tolerate this violence in our communities," according to the District Attorney's news release. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 18.
Chounthala, who was 42 at the time of his death, was an active-duty Marine, husband, and father to a 3-year-old boy, with plans to retire and become a stay-at-home dad later that year. The defendants have both pleaded not guilty to one count of murder in the case 25BFCF00389. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of life in state prison, as reported by the District Attorney's news release. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Cindy Park of the Norwalk Branch Office, and was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
