Three men have been charged by a federal grand jury over the assault of a transgender woman in Puerto Rico last year, with the violent ordeal also filmed by the offenders, federal prosecutors bared on Friday.
Suspects Jordany Rafael Laboy García, Christian Yamaurie Rivera Otero, and Anthony Steven Lobos Ruiz have been charged with hate crimes for harassing a transgender woman apparently targeted because of her gender identity.
The court also slapped Rivera Otero and Lobos Ruiz with obstruction of justice charges after allegedly deleting evidence of the attack from their cell phones.
While the Department of Justice did not explicitly identify the victim, who was named A.N.L. in court documents, activists say it was Alexa Negrón Luciano, 29, the CBS News noted. The alleged victim was later found dead with multiple gunshot wounds the same day of the appalling attack.
Authorities say Alexa was initially accused of entering the women's restroom at the local McDonald's branch and allegedly using a mirror under a bathroom stall to spy on people on Feb. 24, 2020.
Police arrived at the scene and approached the woman, whose friend claimed she used a mirror to watch her back and see who was behind her. The incident was filmed by members of the public and had gone viral after the story was posted on social media.
The same day, the defendants were driving in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico when they recognized Luciano from the social media posts. They would then approach the woman to verbally harass her before driving away, proceeding to buy paintball guns and paintballs, prosecutors alleged.
They later returned to the area and allegedly fired paintballs at Luciano, with at least one of the attackers filming their crimes. They reportedly shared their recordings with others to brag about their offenses, according to the court documents.
Following the attack, Rivera Otero allegedly ordered Lobos Ruiz to expunge at least one video of the paintball gun assault and verbal harassment of the victim from his cellphone, which the latter did.
Later that day, police found Negrón Luciano dead on the side of a road after being shot multiple times just hours after the paintball attack near the McDonald's branch. They recovered twelve 9-millimeter bullet casings at the crime scene, the New York Daily News reported.
The suspects, if convicted, may be jailed for up to 10 years for the hate crime charge and five years in prison for the conspiracy charge. They may also be slapped with a hefty fine of up to $250,000 for each conviction.
Rivera Otero and Lobos Ruiz may also face up to 20 years jail term and a fine of up to $250,000 for the obstruction of justice charge following a conviction.
The court documents are not accusing the trio of the murder of Luciano as investigations continue to identify and ascertain her killer.
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