US Indicts Three Puerto Rico Men For Shooting Transgender Woman - Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2021) Three Puerto Rico men have been charged by a US grand jury with assaulting a transgender woman because of her gender identity, the Justice Department said on Friday.

"A Federal grand jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, returned a three-count indictment charging Jordany Rafael Laboy García, Christian Yamaurie Rivera Otero and Anthony Steven Lobos Ruiz with hate crimes for assaulting a transgender woman because of her gender identity. Rivera Otero and Lobos Ruiz were also charged with obstruction of justice," the Department said in a press release.

It is alleged that on Feb 24, 2020, three defendants verbally harassed the victim and later used paintball guns to shoot at her while recording all their actions on their cell phones, the release said.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the hate crime charge, five years in prison for the conspiracy charge, and up to $250,000 a fine for each charge while Otero and Ruiz also face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 for the obstruction of justice charge.