Juvenile arrested as third suspect in four southeast L.A. County shooting deaths, officials say

A third suspect has been arrested in connection with the deaths of four people during a string of seemingly random shootings in southeast Los Angeles County, authorities announced Friday.

The male juvenile, whose identity was withheld because he is a minor, was arrested in Compton on Thursday night, sheriff’s officials said in a news release. It is unclear what charges he will face or what role he is suspected of playing in the killings.

Gary Garcia Jr. , 42, and Timberland McKneely, 20, were arrested and charged with murder this week in connection with the shootings, which were carried out late Sunday evening and early Monday morning in Bell, Huntington Park, Cudahy and unincorporated Los Angeles County. The victims appeared to have been targeted randomly by the suspects, who allegedly shot from a red SUV across a 5-mile radius over a roughly 90-minute window.

California

4 southeast L.A. County victims were part of ‘random murder spree’; 2 suspects arrested

Law enforcement sources say the fatal shootings late Sunday and early Monday are related. The killings occurred in Huntington Park, Bell, Cudahy and Los Angeles.

Feb. 15, 2024

According to prosecutors, the suspects targeted Kevin Parada, 24, and a 29-year-old man who was standing with him outside Martha Escutia Primary Center in Bell around 11:30 p.m. Sunday. Parada was killed, and the other man was not injured.

Thirty-four minutes later, in an unincorporated part of the county, bullets felled 27-year-old Josue Ramirez in a parking lot in the 1500 block of East Florence Avenue.

Four miles east, at the Ellen Ochoa Learning Center, 14-year-old Javier Pedraza Jr. and a 13-year-old boy were shot a few minutes later as they stood outside the school. Pedraza died outside the elementary school, authorities said. Neighbors said the boy attended the school as an eighth-grader. The 13-year-old was wounded and taken to a hospital, authorities said.

The last victim, Omar Alexander Mora, was shot shortly before 2 a.m. in the 6300 block of Santa Fe Avenue in Huntington Park. He was described as being between the ages of 35 and 45.

Garcia and McKneely are being held in lieu of $2-million bail. They are scheduled to appear for their arraignment Feb. 29 in Norwalk, according to court records.

At each shooting, a red Honda Pilot was captured on surveillance video footage driving away from the scene. Investigators were able to verify the vehicle’s license plate and put out a bulletin to law enforcement that the driver was armed and dangerous and wanted in connection with the shootings.

A vehicle matching the description was stopped by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies at 4 p.m. Monday, and a suspect was taken into custody. Investigators would not say which of the men was driving at the time. The second suspect was identified and arrested after a search warrant was issued and executed by a SWAT team at a Compton home Tuesday morning, according to investigators.