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Jury Convicts Two in 2015 Montecito Heights Killings of Teen Girls

Sentencing on Dec. 11 will follow a trial centered on disputed undercover jailhouse statements.

Overview

  • Jose Antonio Echeverria, 28, and Dallas Stone Pineda, 27, were found guilty of murdering 19-year-old Gabriela Calzada and 17-year-old Briana Gallegos.
  • Jurors also found true special-circumstance allegations of lying in wait and multiple murders, exposing both defendants to life without parole.
  • Prosecutors described the attack as gang-motivated, saying the girls were lured to a secluded area of Ernest E. Debs Regional Park, shot, and bludgeoned with a rock.
  • Because Pineda was 17 at the time of the crimes, he is expected to have a future opportunity for parole despite the life-term exposure.
  • The verdict came after deliberations that restarted twice due to a juror replacement, and sentencing will occur before Judge George G. Lomeli in Los Angeles County Superior Court.