In addition to being a youth pastor at a local church, Peoples was a Navy veteran and father of two—an 11-year-old and a 2-year-old.
Peoples’ father told NBC that Peoples had gone to the gas station to get quarters for laundry with his girlfriend. The girlfriend stayed behind in the car while Peoples went into the gas station, where he was followed by the assailants.
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The morning he was killed, Peoples was texting his father about his desire to buy a home. The two set up a time to meet for lunch the next day to discuss those plans further.
“[Justin] had a beautiful smile, a heart of a lion,” Peoples’ father said. “I don’t understand that hate we have in this world nowadays…to want to stab somebody and shoot them because of the color of the skin.”
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All three defendants have been remanded into custody and are due to appear in court for further arraignment on April 4.
