Two men suspected in a drive-by shooting spree that killed four people in southeastern Los Angeles County were charged Thursday with murder.
Gary Garcia Jr., 42, and Timberland Wayne McKneely, 20, are "alleged to have embarked on a random and brutal shooting spree in Bell, Huntington Park, Cudahy and unincorporated areas of L.A. County", District Attorney George Gascón said.
Both men are charged with four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Prosecutors will ask that they be held without bail.
Investigators previously said a third suspect may have been involved, but Gascón wouldn’t say whether additional suspects are still being sought.
The first shooting was reported around 11:30 p.m. Sunday night in Bell. 24-year-old Kevin Parada was killed, and another man escaped unharmed. Less than an hour later, a man was killed in a second shooting in Florence-Firestone. .
A short time later, 14-year-old Javier Pedraza Jr. was shot and killed in Cudahy. A 13-year-old boy was also shot and hospitalized. He’s in stable condition.
Around 2:40 a.m. Monday, a fourth shooting was reported in Huntington Park, killing an unidentified man whom Huntington Park Police Chief Cosme Lozano said was “simply walking down the street.”
Gascón said the victims “appear to have been targeted randomly.”
“Communities are still shaken by the created by this senseless rampage,” L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn said. “This has been a painful four days for the Southeast Los Angeles community. Families are grieving the loss of four innocent lives taken so violently in these drive-by shootings.”
Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau Capt. Andrew Meyer said Tuesday that investigators believe the suspects are gang members, but there was no word on a motive for the killings.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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