Run Chhoun


Run Peter Chhoun is an American spree killer, mass murderer and gang member. Chhoun, a member of the Tiny Rascal Gang was convicted and sentenced to death for nine murders committed in Sacramento County, San Bernardino County and Los Angeles County. His co-defendant Samreth Pan was also sentenced to death, but for only four of the murders.

Summary of crimes

From July 10 to August 9, 1995, Chhoun, Samreth Pan and several other Tiny Rascal Gang members carried out eleven murders in three different counties in California as well as Washington state, all of which were committed using firearms. Among their victims was a family of five with three young children killed during a home invasion in San Bernardino.

Victims and convictions

Chhoun was convicted of the following murders.
  • Hung Diue Le, 47 - Sacramento, July 27, 1995
  • Nghiep Thich Le, 73 - Sacramento, July 27, 1995
  • Bunlort Nhing Bun, 20 - San Bernardino, August 6, 1995
  • Miguel Vargas Avina, 20 - Pomona, August 8, 1995
  • Son "Henry" Nguyen, 44 - San Bernardino, August 9, 1995
  • Trinh Tran, 35 - San Bernardino, August 9, 1995
  • Doan Hoang, 13 - San Bernardino, August 9, 1995
  • Daniel Nguyen, 11 - San Bernardino, August 9, 1995
  • David Nguyen, 10 - San Bernardino, August 9, 1995
Of these murders, Pan was convicted of murdering the Le's, Bun and Avina. In addition, the two were also convicted of burglary and robbery as well as the attempted murder of Quyen Luu, the wife of Nghiep Le. Both were sentenced to death in February 2002. Chhoun was also suspected to have committed the July 10, 1995 murders of Johnny Hagan and Hong Pham in Spokane, a crime in which Giao Ly was convicted and sentenced to 42 years for. In 1996, gang member Vinh Tran pleaded guilty to the murders of the Nguyen family in exchange for a 50 year to life sentence rather than life without parole. The massacre of the Nguyen family also left 3-year-old Dennis, the youngest child, injured.