Murder suspects plead not guilty in random shooting spree in southeast LA County
Three men charged in a random shooting spree in southeastern Los Angeles County pleaded not guilty Monday to murder charges.
Timberland McKneely, 20, is facing the largest number of charges -- six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder -- stemming from shootings Feb. 11 and 12 and last Nov. 24.
Co-defendant Gary Garcia Jr., 42, is charged with four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder in connection with the shootings in February, while Joseivan Mendoza, 18, is charged along with McKneely in the shootings last November.
The murder charges include the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and shooting from a motor vehicle causing death. The three could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Superior Court Judge Andrew C. Kim ordered McKneely, Garcia and Mendoza to remain jailed without bail while awaiting their next court appearance April 18. A date is scheduled to be set then for a hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence to require them to stand trial.
Meanwhile, a fourth defendant who will turn 18 next month is due in a Compton juvenile court March 22 on four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder involving the shootings in February.
McKneely and Garcia were initially each charged with four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder involving the shootings that left three men and a 14-year-old boy dead last month in Bell, Huntington Park, Cuday and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, with authorities saying that the shootings appearing to be random.
Prosecutors subsequently added the two additional murder counts against McKneely and filed charges against the 17-year-old boy about a week later involving the killings of two men, aged 30 and 28, in Cudahy and an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. Details of those shootings, including the victims' names, were not available.
"My office is fully committed to ensuring that justice is served to all individuals responsible for these heinous murders. I join with all Los Angeles County residents in expressing my gratitude for the hardworking members of law enforcement who continue to investigate these horrific murders," District Attorney George Gascón said in a Feb. 22 statement announcing the latest charges.
A week earlier, the district attorney said that the victims in the February attacks "appear to have been targeted randomly as they merely moved about their daily life," calling it a "random shooting spree that shook the foundation and sense of safety of our community."
The first in the series of shootings in February occurred about 11:30 p.m. Feb. 11 in the 6500 block of Bear Avenue in Bell, authorities said. That shooting left 24-year-old Kevin Parada dead. A 29-year-old man was also fired upon, but was not injured, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Shortly after midnight, another fatal shooting occurred Feb. 12 in the 1500 block of East Florence Avenue in the nearby unincorporated Florence- Firestone area. That victim was described as a 27-year-old Hispanic man.
Two boys -- both Hispanic -- were shot a short time later in the 5000 block of Live Oak Street near Ellen Ochoa Learning Center in Cudahy. One of them, 14-year-old Javier Pedraza Jr. of Cudahy, was pronounced dead at the scene. The second boy -- a 13-year-old -- was taken in what was described as stable condition to a hospital.
The fourth shooting occurred about 2:40 a.m. that day in the 6300 block of Santa Fe Avenue in Huntington Park, near Gage Avenue, officials said. That man was not immediately identified, but Huntington Park Police Department Chief Cosme Lozano said he was known to be a local homeless man who was "simply walking down the street."
According to LASD's Homicide Bureau Capt. Andrew Meyer, sheriff's homicide investigators responded to all four shooting scenes in February, and surveillance video quickly determined that a Honda Pilot SUV was at each location around the time of the attacks.
Sheriff's officials circulated a law enforcement bulletin, and the vehicle was spotted and stopped the afternoon of Feb. 12 by San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies, and one suspect -- believed to be Garcia -- was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder, Meyer said.
Investigators were then able to identify the second suspect, who was arrested by a sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau team the morning of Feb. 13 in Compton, according to Meyer. McKneely has remained behind bars since then.
The juvenile was arrested Feb. 15, sheriff's officials said.
Mendoza was taken into custody by sheriff's deputies Feb. 19, according to jail records.
Meyer said last month that investigators believe the suspects are gang members, but there was no immediate word on a motive for the killings.
