Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies on Wednesday announced a $20,000 reward for information about the shooting of an active-duty Marine on the streets of Bellflower in May.
Deputies responded to a pedestrian hit-and-run at 2 a.m. May 28 at Virginia Avenue and Artesia Boulevard. Peter Chounthala, 42, was found lying in the street with injuries to his upper chest and was pronounced dead at the scene, the Sheriff's Department said.
During an investigation, officers said they learned that at least two men assaulted Chounthala in “senseless acts of violence” before heading to a nearby parking lot.
The men left Chounthala injured in the street before he was struck by a dark-colored, four-door Kia K5 made between 2021 and 2023, Lt. Patricia Thomas of the sheriff's Homicide Bureau said at a news conference. The car was last seen heading east on Artesia Boulevard, Thomas said.
Investigators did not say whether they believe Chounthala's attackers were driving the car or whether he was hit by another motorist.
“He was everything to me and my family,” the victim’s wife, Jurina Chounthala, said at the news conference. “He was like the glue that held us together.”
Peter Chounthala, the father of a 3-year-old boy, joined the Marines in 2008 and served several tours in Afghanistan. He was scheduled to retire at the end of the year, said Witpha Chounthala, the victim's sister.
“It may take a day or 100 years, but believe me, they will be found, no matter where they are, how far they go or how long they run. They will not be able to escape,” said their sister, calling on the suspects to turn themselves in.
Deputies are asking anyone with information about the incident to call the Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
