Jury Urges Death for Gang Member

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury on Monday recommended the death penalty for a gang member accused of a series of murders in 1995 from Washington state to the Los Angeles area.

Run Peter Chhoun, 29, the suspected leader of the San Bernardino-based Tiny Rascals, was convicted last month, along with co-defendant Samreth Sam Pan, 25, of the murders of three people in Los Angeles County and Sacramento.

A jury last week recommended that Pan be sentenced to death.

Chhoun and Pan were found guilty of murdering Nghiep Thich Le, 48, and his father, Hung Dieu Le, 73, of Sacramento during a home invasion robbery; and Miguel Vargas Avina, 20, of Pomona.

Authorities have said Avina was shot because Chhoun and Pan mistakenly thought he was a rival gang member.

The two also were convicted of burglarizing and robbing the Le home and of the attempted murder of Nghiep Le’s wife, Quyen Luu, 49, who was shot in the hip.

Chhoun is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Robert Perry on March 12. Sentencing for Pan is scheduled March 13.

Besides the Los Angeles and Sacramento cases, Chhoun has been sentenced to death on his conviction for the August 1995 home-invasion murders of a family of five in a San Bernardino County case.

He and Pan also have been sentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of a rival gang member in San Bernardino County that same month.

Chhoun also has been charged with the murders of a Spokane, Wash., couple in July 1995. That case is pending.