Pair Pleads Not Guilty in Woodland Hills Drug Deal Double Murders

WOODLAND HILLS, CA --Two men pleaded not guilty today to capital murder charges stemming from the shooting in Tarzana of two men following a drug deal that went bad in Woodland Hills.

Guillermo Teran, 23, of Oxnard, and Tomas Ramos Ochoa, 34, of Los Angeles, are charged with murder in the June 2 killings of Christian Barrera- Rivera, 23, and Sonny Pena, 28, along with two counts of attempted murder.

The murder charges include the special circumstance allegations of murder during the commission of a robbery, murder by means of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle and multiple murders.

The criminal complaint also includes allegations that Teran personally and intentionally discharged a gun and that he was convicted in 2012 in San Diego of federal drug charges.

Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Teran and Ochoa. They are both due back in court Aug. 16.

Authorities said Barrera-Rivera and Pena were allegedly fired upon soon after driving up to meet the two defendants for a drug deal in the area of Oso Avenue and Tiara Street in Woodland Hills, and that a dispute occurred in which money was taken.

Barrera-Rivera and Pena sped away, but Teran and Ochoa allegedly caught up with them in Tarzana, prosecutors said.

The two victims were found shot inside a vehicle that had crashed in the 6100 block of Corbin Avenue, authorities said. Pena died at the scene, and Barrera-Rivera died later at a nearby hospital.

Teran was arrested June 3, while Ochoa was arrested June 8, according to jail records.

City News Service