Two Californians have been arrested and charged with a hate crime in the killing of Black Navy veteran Justin Peoples. One is accused of being a white supremacist.
On March 15, Jones was stabbed and shot multiple times while at a gas station in Tracy, California. Two white individuals, Jeremy Wayne Jones, 49, and Christine Lyn Garner, 42, were arrested for allegedly being tied to Jones’s killing.
The two “were arraigned on murder charges with a special circumstance alleging the victim, Justin Peoples, was intentionally killed because of his race, color, religion, nationality, or country of origin,” said San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar, who revealed the suspects’ allegations on Friday.
Jones has been charged with one count of first-degree premeditated murder, weapons enhancement for the use of a knife and special circumstances for the hate crime. PEOPLE reports Garner has been charged with one count of murder, weapons enhancement for the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony with special circumstances for the hate crime, and one count of felony possession of a firearm.
Salazar added that there’s evidence that suggests Jones is also a white supremacist. Salazar released images of Jones’ tattoos, which featured a swastika and the phrase “white pride.”
Another person named Christopher Dimenco, 58 has also been arraigned for allegedly helping Garner and Jones escape. Dimenco, Jones and Garner are set to be arranged on April 4; they are currently being held without bond.
Peoples, a Navy veteran, was forced to leave behind his two children.
