2 teens charged with murder in Montecito Heights double homicide

MONTECITO HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Two teenagers were charged in the double murder of a young woman and a girl whose bodies were found last fall in a Montecito Heights park, charging documents revealed Thursday.

Booking documents show that 18-year-old Jose Antonio Echeverria and 17-year-old Dallas Stone Pineda were arrested and charged with two counts of murder each. Pineda was charged as an adult.

The bodies of 19-year-old Gabriela Calzada and 17-year-old Briana Gallegos were found in a gully at the Ernest E. Debs Regional Park on Oct. 28, 2015, according to investigators.

Authorities said both women knew each other. Gallegos was reported missing about seven hours after their bodies were found by a hiker at the park.

Officials said one of the teens was shot, while the other bludgeoned to death. Investigators said they believe the murders took place in the park.

The charging documents said both Echeverria and Pineda are gang members and that the killings were gang-related.

Because the case is believed to be gang-related, Charles Beck, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said Echeverria and Pineda would be eligible for the death penalty.

Echeverria was also charged in a Jan. 29 attempted murder, according to documents.

Both Echeverria and Pineda are scheduled to be arraigned on March 8 and are being held without bail.