2 Plead Not Guilty To Killing Woman, Teen Girl In Montecito Heights Park

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two teenagers have pleaded not guilty to charges they murdered a young woman and a teenage girl at a Montecito Heights park in what authorities allege was a gang crime.

Nineteen-year-old Jose Antonio Echeverria and 17-year-old Dallas Stone Pineda entered pleas Tuesday in Superior Court.

The bodies of 19-year-old Gabriela Calzada and 17-year-old Briana Gallegos were found at Ernest E. Debs Regional Park on Oct. 28.

The district attorney's office brought a capital murder case against the two defendants in February.

Pineda is charged as an adult but is not eligible for the death penalty because of his age. Prosecutors have not yet decided whether they would seek the death penalty against Echeverria if he is convicted.

Police Chief Charlie Beck has said the killings were motivated by hatred between gangs.

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