A California couple faces murder and hate crime charges in the death of a Black Navy veteran

• A California couple faces hate crime charges in connection to the death of a Black Navy veteran.
• Justin Peoples was shot and stabbed multiple times at a gas station in Tracy, California, on March 15.

A couple faces murder and hate crime charges in connection to the death of a Black Navy veteran at a gas station in Northern California last week, local law enforcement officials announced Tuesday.

Justin Peoples, 30, a youth pastor who formerly served in the US Navy, was shot and stabbed multiple times at a Chevron gas station in Tracy, California, shortly after 9 p.m. local time on March 15. He was taken to a local hospital where he died of his injuries.

Maurice Peoples, the victim's father, told NBC News that his son "had the heart of a lion to survive but he just didn't make it."

Christina Lyn Garner, 42, and Jeremy Wayne Jones, 49, were arrested the morning after authorities found Peoples' body in connection with his death, CBS13 reported. The pair face murder charges with a "special circumstance" accusing them of "intentionally" killing Peoples "because of his race, color, religion, nationality, or country of origin," according to a press release from the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office.

In the release, police included photos of a tattoo on one of the suspects reading "white pride" and another tattoo with a swastika embedded in the design.

"There is no place for hate in our community. No one should be victimized because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion," District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar said in a statement. "These types of crimes are reprehensible and my administration will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law to hold those who perpetuate hate accountable."

A third person, Christopher Dimenco, 58, was charged as an accessory to the alleged crime.

Peoples said Justin went to the gas station with his girlfriend to get quarters for laundry when the two suspects followed him into the building. It was not immediately clear if there was a confrontation between them before Peoples' death.

Justin Peoples had an 11- and a 2-year-old son, according to his father, and had a "big kind heart."

"When he came around you could feel the light from his smile," he said.