Two South Carolina men have been charged in the murder of Pebbles LaDime “Dime” Doe, a 24-year-old transgender woman who died in August 2019. Daqua Ritter, 26, has been charged with a hate crime, using a firearm in connection with the hate crime, and obstruction of justice, while Xavier Pinckney, 24, has been charged with obstruction of justice for providing false and misleading statements to authorities investigating the death.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Ritter shot Doe because of her “actual and perceived gender identity” and misled state investigators about his whereabouts on the day of the murder. Pinckney, on the other hand, concealed his phone calls and texts to Doe and lied about seeing Ritter the morning after the murder.
Ritter was arrested on Monday in New York City and Pinckney was arrested on Thursday. The hate crime count carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, while the obstruction of justice charge has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.