Two South Carolina men have been charged in the 2019 murder of a transgender woman.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, Daqua Ritter, 26, faces hate crime and obstruction justice charges after allegedly shooting Pebbles LaDime “Dime” Doe, a 24-year-old transgender woman, due to her "actual and perceived gender identity," per NBC News.
24-year-old Xavier Pinckney was charged with two obstruction offenses over “false and misleading” statements provided to authorities during an investigation into Doe's 2019 death.
Following the Aug. 4, 2019 shooting, Ritter lied to investigators about where he was on the day of the murder, according to prosecutors.
Pinckney concealed a phone call and text messages between him and Doe on the day of the shooting, prosecutors said. He also accused of lying to investigators about seeing Ritter the following morning.
Ritter could face up to life in prison for the hate crime charge. The obstruction justice charge holds a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Ritter was apprehended by the FBI on Monday (January 30), and Pinckney was arrested on Thursday (February 2), according to court documents.
It's unclear whether the men have retained attorneys, per NBC News.
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