Two cousins from Long Beach and Inglewood are headed to state prison for more than a decade after admitting their roles in the killing of an active-duty U.S. Marine in Bellflower. On Thursday, Damari Kensey and Jaymel Williams pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the 2024 attack that left 42-year-old Peter Chounthala in the lanes of Artesia Boulevard, where he was struck by a passing vehicle and killed. Each man was immediately ordered to serve 11 years in state prison.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said the no-contest pleas came from 22-year-old Kensey of Long Beach and 29-year-old Williams of Inglewood, according to MyNewsLA. Prosecutors had initially charged both men with murder in the case last year, a filing first announced by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, and earlier murder charges were widely reported at the time.
How The Attack Unfolded
Sheriff’s investigators say Chounthala was leaving a bar shortly before 2 a.m. on May 28, 2024, when he was followed outside, violently beaten and left collapsed in the traffic lanes of Artesia Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Times. Authorities later said the hit-and-run vehicle was a dark-colored, four-door 2021–23 Kia K5, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $20,000 reward for information leading to arrests and convictions, as reported by CBS Los Angeles.
Plea, Sentence And Legal Notes
By entering no-contest pleas to voluntary manslaughter, Kensey and Williams avoided a murder trial but still received the maximum term allowed for that conviction: 11 years in state prison, MyNewsLA reported, citing the District Attorney’s Office. Under California law, voluntary manslaughter is punishable by imprisonment in state prison for 3, 6, or 11 years, according to Penal Code section 193.
Victim And Reaction
Chounthala, 42, was an active-duty Marine who had served multiple tours and was a husband and father to a 3-year-old, the Los Angeles Times reported. When prosecutors announced charges last year, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, “We will not tolerate this violence in our communities,” according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Local detectives continue to work the investigation while family members and neighbors mourn.
What’s Next
The driver who struck Chounthala did not stop and has not been identified; investigators continue to seek tips and have urged anyone with information to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477, CBS Los Angeles reported. The hit-and-run portion of the probe remains active while the convictions resolve the defendants’ roles in the assault.
