A jury has convicted a couple who stabbed and shot a man to death in 2022 at a Tracy gas station in a violent encounter that began after the victim brushed past the female assailant, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office announced this week.
Jeremy Wayne Jones and Christina Lyn Garner were convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Justin Peoples, who had stopped at the gas station to get change on March 15, 2022.
The case, at least initially, had racial overtones. Jones and Garner are white, and Peoples, a Navy veteran and Delta College graduate, was Black. Shortly after the killing, the district attorney’s office said it would treat the case as a hate crime, noting tattoos on Jones’ body that included “White ” and “Pride.”
The slaying came after Peoples bumped into Garner inside the gas station store before she exited, prosecutors said. Garner told Jones of the interaction when she returned to their car, which prompted him to rush in and demand an apology from Peoples.
The two men scuffled, and Jones pulled a knife, stabbing Peoples multiple times. The San Joaquin County chief medical examiner testified he had sustained 18 sharp-force injuries from a knife, according to reporting by the Stockton Record.
During the fight, Garner grabbed a gun out of the vehicle and came into the store, prosecutors said. Once inside, she testified that she saw “her man’s” life in danger and shot Peoples in the head. She and Jones then drove off without calling the police.
San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said the verdicts “hold the defendants accountable for their brutal actions and reaffirm our commitment to justice.”
Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 17 in San Joaquin County Superior Court. Jones faces 27 years to life in prison, while Garner could see a potential sentence of 50 years to life.