Authorities said a California couple linked to neo-Nazi skinheads and accused of killing and stabbing a black Navy veteran during an attack on a gas station have been charged with murder as a hate crime.
Christine Garner, 42, of Manteca, and Jeremy Jones, 49, of Stockton, have already been charged with murder following a shooting last week that killed Justin Peoples, 30.
San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Werber Salazar said Friday that she believes her office has gathered enough evidence to renew the hate crime charges against Garner and Jones.
Peoples, a double-working father of two, pulled into a Chevron gas station in Tracy, about 60 miles from San Francisco, around 9 p.m. March 15.
Garner and Jones shot and stabbed Peoples several times before fleeing the scene, authorities said.
Peeples was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died a few hours later, and the couple were arrested the next day.
Tracy’s law enforcement determined the attack was a “senseless act of violence,” but the district attorney added hate crime charges against Garner and Jones after examining evidence linking them to skinheads and the Aryan Brotherhood.
In photos shared by Jones’s prosecutors, the words “WHITE” and “PRIDE” can be seen on the skin on the back of his right and left biceps. A close-up of the skeleton tattoo on Jones’ back also shows the swastika.
The couple is in police custody and is expected to return to court for an indictment hearing on April 4.
Christina Garner, 42, of Manteca, and Jeremy Jones, 49, of Stockton, have been charged with murder following a shooting last week that killed Justin Peoples, 30. On Friday, the San Jose County District Attorney upgraded the charge to a charge of murder as a hate crime.
The word “white” is tattooed in capital letters on the back of Jones’ left bicep.
The word “pride” is tattooed in capital letters on the back of Jones’ right bicep.
A close-up of the skeleton tattoo on Jones’ back also shows the swastika.
Navy veteran Justin People, 30, father of two, was stabbed and shot multiple times.
“There is no place for hate in our community. No one should be a victim because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion,” Salazar said in a statement following the hate crime charges against Garner and Jones.
“These types of crimes are reprehensible, and my administration will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law to bring to justice those who perpetuate hate.”
Prosecutors said they were able to gather evidence against the defendants from posts they posted on social media showing off their tattoos and referring to Norse mythology and symbols misused by white supremacists, reports The Daily Beast.
Jones recently got a tattoo of Garner’s name, CHRISTINA, on his neck and commented that he got the tattoo because he wanted to show his love for her.
“I love my family, my brothers and sisters with the love that I feel in my gut. It’s not some fake, I can’t wait to get rid of your love… I’ll tell you this time, stay away from me.” and away from my people. We have some [living] do. Win or Wa[l]hullah,” Jones wrote on Facebook in November.
Valhalla, the paradise where the heroes of Norse mythology go, is misrepresented by white supremacists trying to find a connection between mythology and racial purity.
Garner and Jones are expected to appear in court at an April 4 prosecution hearing.
On March 15, the Tracy Police Department responded to reports of a man with a gunshot wound at a Chevron gas station on North Tracy Boulevard.
Law enforcement officers who arrived at the scene found gunshot and multiple stab wounds in Peeples.
The next day, the Tracy Police Department’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and Special Enforcement Unit (SET) took Garner into custody in connection with Peeples’ death.
A third person, 58-year-old Christopher Angelo Dimenko, was also arrested for helping Jones and Garner flee the scene.
“There is no room for hate in Tracy or anywhere else,” Tracy Police Chief Sekou Millington said after the charges were filed Friday.
“When members of the community are victims of hare-related crime, we will use our resources to bring those responsible to justice,” he added.
Jones has a long criminal record dating back to 2007, including accusations of property theft and violent crimes.
The criminal complaint, filed by the San Jose County District Attorney’s office, says the attack on the people was unprovoked.
On Friday, prosecutors updated the murder charges against Garner and Jones, making the murder a hate crime.
“He was a wonderful young man,” Peoples’ father Maurice said on Monday. “Racism stops here. It stops right here. Justice for Justin.”
Maurice said that a few hours before the assassination, he received a message from his son saying that he would meet Maurice the next day for lunch.
“It will always hurt. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy,” the grieving father told Channel 3000.
“It will be a long ordeal and sorrow in my heart.”
Maurice also said that his son worked two jobs and saved money to buy a house.
“I don’t care what color you are – support this child who didn’t deserve to die,” another People relative, Bernice Bass, said on Monday.
Jones has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2007, including allegations of property theft and violent crimes.
The men were arrested earlier this year and charged with drug and firearm possession after police seized ecstasy, xanax, crack, fentanyl and LSD found in his car, according to a statement from the San Jose County Sheriff’s Office last month.