COLUMBIA, S.C. — New testimony took place on day three of the federal gender-based hate crime trial in the killing of a transgender woman, Ladime Doe. She was killed in 2019 in Allendale County. The trial is taking place in federal court in Richland County.
Defendant Daqua Ritter is one of two charged in connection with this case. The second man charged in this case, Xavier Pinckney, took the stand on Thursday.
Pinckney previously pleaded guilty to obstructing an investigation by providing false and misleading statements to state authorities. In this case, he entered an agreement with the federal government, where if he told the truth during his testimony, the government wouldn't use what he said against him.
Pinckney testified on Thursday that he was at a residence in Allendale with several friends on Aug. 4, 2019, the day of the murder. When Ritter walked up to the house, Pinckney said they smoked marijuana, and Ritter asked to use his phone. Within moments, a vehicle pulled up, and Ritter got in and left.
Pinckney testified that, later that day, he got a text from a number he didn't recognize. Pinckney said he called the number back, and Ritter answered, asking where they were.
Pinckney said Ritter came to the home they were at on foot, in different clothes, and asked for a lighter and gasoline. He then proceeded to burn his clothes in the yard, stomped the fire out, and left with them.
During cross-examination, the defense called Pinckney a liar, referencing his charges of misleading investigators and not being truthful in multiple interviews. The defense also questioned Pinckney's memory due to how much he smoked marijuana and that he stated in testimony that it was hard to remember days and exact times because he was high.
A second witness testified she got in a car the day after the murder, and Ritter told her he killed Doe. Ritter allegedly told her he shot Doe one time and realized it didn't kill her and then ran up to the vehicle and shot again, adding it was over some photo or video.
She testified that she saw burning in someone's front yard the day of the murder.
In cross-examination, the defense highlighted an interview with investigators where she said she thought this conversation with Ritter happened the day of the murder, contradicting her testimony in court.
Then Kiarra Mowry, the girlfriend of Ritter's uncle took the stand. She said she would stay with his uncle on the weekends during the time of the murder and that their home is located on the same street where Doe was found shot in her car.
Mowry testified that Ritter had come by the house that day and spoken with his uncle. Mowry said they went outside to talk, and his uncle returned, saying he had to take Ritter to the store in what seemed to her like a rushed manner.
In her testimony, she said she left the home and was headed to her mom's house when she saw a heavy law enforcement presence at the scene of the crime. She said she called Ritter's uncle to tell him what she saw, to which he allegedly said he "heard Daqua had killed Dime."
The defense claimed hearsay and requested a mistrial, adding that this wasn't in her grand jury testimony. That request was denied, and the judge asked the jury to disregard the statement made.
Two other witnesses took the stand and said they saw Ritter walking down their street that afternoon. One of them said he had clothes in his hand.
Towards the end of the day, a witness testified he was with Xavier Pickney when Ritter walked up with clothes. He said he went inside and came out to them, and a fire was coming from the barrel on the side of the house.
He said he had known Ritter for around three weeks.
In the cross-examination, attorneys brought up his grand jury testimony, where he said he had only known Ritter for a week and was changing his testimony to make his relationship with Ritter longer.
The prosecution said they have two more witnesses.
Court resumes at 9 a.m. Friday.