BLACKS: Daqua & Xavier had Hate-crime charges filed against them in Allendale for BM/F transgender killing

[Arheel's Uncle]

Hate-crime charge filed in Allendale transgender killing

A five-count federal indictment was unsealed charging two South Carolina men in the 2019 killing of a transgender woman in Allendale.

www.wrdw.com

Hate-crime charge filed in Allendale transgender killing​

By Staff
Published: Jan. 31, 2023 at 4:04 PM MST|Updated: Jan. 31, 2023 at 4:41 PM MST

WASHINGTON (WRDW/WAGT) - A five-count federal indictment was unsealed charging two South Carolina men in the 2019 killing of a transgender woman in Allendale County.
The indictment charges Daqua Ritter, 26, with a hate crime in the murder of a transgender woman because of her gender identity; using a firearm in connection with the hate crime; and obstruction of justice.
The indictment also charges Xavier Pinckney, 24, with two obstruction offenses for providing false and misleading statements to authorities investigating the murder of the victim, LaDime Doe.
South Carolina is one of only two states without a hate crimes law in place.
The bill was sitting in the Senate in 2022, but lawmakers did not approve the proposal by the end of their session in May. That forced hate-crime charges to come from the federal level after Doe was murdered.


The indictment alleges that on Aug. 4, 2019, Ritter shot LaDime Doe, a transgender woman, because of Dime Doe’s actual and perceived gender identity.
The indictment further charges Ritter with misleading state investigators about his whereabouts on the day of the murder. The indictment also alleges Pinckney concealed from state investigators the use of his phone to call and text Dime Doe the day of the murder and lied to state and federal investigators about seeing Ritter after the morning of the murder.
The hate crime count against Ritter carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The counts charging Ritter and Pinckney with obstruction of justice carry a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment. The count charging Pinckney with lying to federal investigators carries a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment.
The FBI’s Columbia Field Office investigated the case, with the assistance of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.


Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brook Andrews, Ben Garner, and Elle Klein for the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Andrew Manns of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, 2021 was marked as the deadliest year for gender-diverse people with 2022 still being above normal.
They report fatal violence affects transgender women of color, primarily Black transgender women. We talked to a local spokesperson for the mother of Felycya Harris, a transgender woman who was murdered in Augusta in 2020, and the mother of Keisha Chanel Geter who was shot and killed at the Knights Inn hotel. They’re working to start an organization called “A Mother’s Fight” to stop violence in the LGBTQ+ community.

Walter Santiago is a local advocate. He said, “It’s not going to happen overnight that laws are going to be written to protect against hate crimes in South Carolina, let alone the lives of the transgender population in South Carolina. It goes all the way up to the Governor, Henry McMaster. What are you doing? What are you doing to protect these other individuals that reside in your state?”
We talked with an organization called South Carolina Equality and PFLAG. They say there’s a need for a hate crimes bill because if the federal government doesn’t want to charge a person for a hate crime, the state has no option to do it on its own.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

The indictment also charges Xavier Pinckney, 24, with two obstruction offenses for providing false and misleading statements to authorities investigating the murder of the victim, LaDime Doe.

He pleaded guilty

South Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Justice in the Murder of a Black Transgender Woman

WASHINGTON – A South Carolina man pleaded guilty today to obstructing an investigation into the December 2019 murder of a transgender woman.

www.justice.gov

Pinckney faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the obstruction of justice offense. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

South Carolina Man Sentenced for Obstructing Justice in the Murder of a Black Transgender Woman

A South Carolina man was sentenced today for obstructing an investigation into the December 2019 murder of a transgender woman.

www.justice.gov

South Carolina Man Sentenced for Obstructing Justice in the Murder of a Black Transgender Woman​

Thursday, May 2, 2024




For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs

A South Carolina man was sentenced today for obstructing an investigation into the December 2019 murder of a transgender woman.
Xavier Pinckney, 24, was sentenced to 45 months in prison for providing false and misleading information to state authorities investigating the murder of Dime Doe. He previously pleaded guilty on Oct 26, 2023.
“The defendant’s sentence is part of our effort to fully seek justice and accountability following the tragic murder of a Black transgender woman,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The message should be clear: The Justice Department will fully investigate and prosecute those who target the Black transgender community and that includes those who unlawfully obstruct investigations into these heinous crimes. We want the Black trans community to know that we stand with the LGBTQI+ community, we reject transphobic-fueled violence, and that we will seek justice for victims and their families.”
“Pinckney’s obstruction delayed our investigation and delayed justice for Dime Doe,” said U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs for the District of South Carolina. “Fortunately, Pinckney confessed his lies and his role in the coverup of her murder. This sentence underscores that no one who stands in the way of justice will go unpunished.”
“Pinckney’s obstructive actions delayed justice for Dime Doe and accountability for his co-defendant,” said Special Agent in Charge Steve Jensen of the FBI Columbia Field Office. “No matter the obstacle, the FBI and our law enforcement partners are poised to defend the rights and protections of all citizens, and those who engage in criminal activity will be met with the full weight of our investigative and prosecutorial power.”
According to court documents, Pinckney admitted that he concealed from the state authorities the use of his phone to call and text Doe the day of her murder, and he lied to state investigators about seeing his co-defendant, Daqua Ritter, on the morning of Doe’s murder. Ritter was convicted of a hate crime, firearms charge and obstruction of justice in a jury trial arising out of the Ritter’s murder of Doe. Ritter was the first defendant to be found guilty by trial verdict for a hate crime motivated by gender identity under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
The FBI Columbia Field Office investigated the case, with the assistance of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Allendale County Sheriff’s Office and Allendale Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brook Andrews, Ben Garner and Elle Klein for the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Andrew Manns of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.

Updated May 3, 2024

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Xavier Pinckney, 24

South Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Justice in Murder of Transgender Individual

Xavier Pinckney, of South Carolina, pleaded guilty to obstructing an investigation into the 2019 murder of a transgender named Dime Doe.

clarionproject.org

Kulen Xavier Pinckney - Jasper County Sherriff's Office

edit: Kylen is correct spelling - court docket

• Xavier Pinckney, of South Carolina, pleaded guilty to obstructing an investigation into the 2019 murder of a transgender individual named Dime Doe.
• Pinckney provided false information to state authorities regarding his phone calls and texts to Dime Doe on the day of her murder, and he lied about seeing the alleged murderer, Daqua Ritter, on the morning of the crime.
• Pinckney faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the obstruction of justice offense. A sentencing date has not been scheduled yet. Read More

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/sout...ucting-justice-murder-black-transgender-woman

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Jasper County man arrested for fatal shooting of juvenile

The Jasper County Sheriff's Office arrested a 28-year-old man for the shooting death of a juvenile on Oct. 16 in Jasper County.

fox28savannah.com

Jasper County man arrested for fatal shooting of juvenile​

---

by Parker Fluke
Tue, October 25th 2022 at 2:47 PM

Kylen Xavier Pinckney (Credit: Jasper County Sheriff's Office)

JASPER COUNTY, S.C. (WTGS) — The Jasper County Sheriff's Office arrested a 28-year-old man for the shooting death of a juvenile on Oct. 16 in Jasper County.
TRENDING: Georgia Senate District 2 candidates face-off at Savannah forum
Kylen Xavier Pinckney, 28, was arrested in Bamberg, South Carolina, and charged with involuntary manslaughter, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person convicted of a violent felony and breaking into a motor vehicle.

The sheriff's office had previously reported a shooting on Oct. 16 off Lady Banks Drive in Ridgeland. Officers were investigating the incident as a possible accidental shooting between two brothers.
The victim was taken to Memorial Hospital where he died of his injuries. After further investigation, detectives found evidence to show that the shooting was not accidental.
Pinckney was arrested and brought to Jasper County Detention Center on Saturday, Oct. 22.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Daqua Ritter

Federal hate-crime trial continues in Allendale trans murder case

The first federal trial over a hate crime based on gender identity began on Tuesday – a trial over the Allendale murder of Dime Doe, a Black transgender woman.

www.wrdw.com

Federal hate-crime trial continues in Allendale trans murder case​

By Sydney Hood and The Associated Press
Published: Feb. 20, 2024 at 7:26 AM MST|Updated: Feb. 21, 2024 at 7:21 AM MST

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - The first federal trial over a hate crime based on gender identity continues Wednesday – a trial over the Allendale murder of Dime Doe, a Black transgender woman.
On Tuesday, the jury heard opening arguments and witnesses testified.

MORE | Allendale murder case highlights lack of S.C. hate-crime law​

The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that in August 2019, Daqua Lameek Ritter coaxed Doe into driving to a sparsely populated rural county in South Carolina.
The indictment alleges the motive was Doe’s actual and perceived gender identity.

LaDime Doe(Contributed)

During opening arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Garner portrayed Ritter as someone working vigilantly to avoid the ridicule he’d face if his secret relationship was exposed. They’d met during his teenage years when he traveled from his grandmother’s Brooklyn home to visit family property in Allendale.

The two had been close friends, according to the defense, and were related through Ritter’s aunt and the woman’s uncle.

But Ritter became “enraged” when he learned that one of Doe’s friends knew about their sexual relationship, according to Garner. Ritter threatened to beat her for sharing that information with anyone — something he had repeatedly instructed her not to do, Garner said.

The government has said that Ritter’s girlfriend learned about the affair between Ritter and Doe in the month before the killing. Prosecutors believe the revelation, which they say prompted Ritter’s girlfriend to hurl a homophobic slur, made Ritter “extremely upset.”

Garner cited text messages purporting to show that Ritter complained to Doe about the mockery less than one week before her death.
“He killed her to silence her,” Garner told the jury.

They say that Ritter lied about his whereabouts in an interview with state police later that day. A “nervous” Ritter walked to his uncle’s house about half a mile away from the crime scene and asked for a ride home, according to Garner. Prosecutors say that Ritter enlisted others to help burn his clothes, hide the weapon and mislead police about his location on the day of the murder.

Daqua Lameek Ritter(Contributed)

The first government witness Tuesday was Allendale County Sheriff James Freeman, who was a captain with the Allendale County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the murder.
He was working a separate traffic stop when he got the call that there was a body slumped over in the seat of a vehicle. He said he drove 15 to 20 minutes to what he calls a wooded area with no residential or business building in sight.
There, he saw a white Chevrolet Impala backed into the woods with a female slumped in the seat.

He felt for a pulse, didn’t find one and called emergency medical crews.
He noticed a shoe outside the car that resembled one that was inside the car.
He asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to take over the case and then went to Ritter’s grandmother’s house for interviews.
On cross-examination, the defense pulled out an incident report to show the call came in at 5:51 p.m.

The incident report states that the car was runnning in park.
Days after the murder, he said he got a tip to go to Myers Road in Allendale regarding burned clothes.
He went there and found a burn barrel where something had been burned but nothing was inside, according to Freeman.

The second witness was a SLED agent who described the scene.

Prosecutors showed about 30 photos and had him describe what they showed.
They included the car off Concord Church Road, Dime slumped over to the side, blood in the seat and blood in her curly hair.
There was a black high heel and a pair of black Converses on the passenger floorboard.
Beside the high heel was a gun shell.

There was a show in the grass matching the black high heel on the passenger-side floor.
On the driver side were two gun shells – one in the seat and one in the floor.
There was a red iPhone with a driver’s license in the clear case. The driver’s license bore the name Ernest Devontay Doe.

Deadly trend​

In recent years, there has been a surge in attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, and Doe is one of several transgender and gender-fluid murder victims in the CSRA. Others include:


For decades, transgender women of color have faced disproportionately high rates of violence and hate crimes, according to the Department of Homeland Security. In 2022, the number of gender identity-based hate crimes reported by the FBI increased by 37% compared to the previous year.
Until 2009, federal hate crime laws did not account for offenses motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

The first conviction involving a victim targeted for their gender identity came in 2017. A Mississippi man who pleaded guilty to killing a 17-year-old transgender woman received a 49-year prison sentence.

But Tuesday marks the first time that such a case has ever been brought to trial, according to Brook Andrews, the assistant U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina. Never before has a federal jury decided whether to punish someone for a crime based on the victim’s gender identity.
WRDW’s Sydney Hood and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

The black Pinckney family is very large in the state.