Pedro Redding, Defendant in Kiesha Jenkins Murder Case, Has Preliminary Hearing Today

Kiesha Jenkins (left) via Facebook. Suspect Pedro Redding (right) in Philadelphia Police Department photo.

Pedro Redding will face a judge today during a preliminary hearing scheduled for 9 am. He has been the lone arrest in the murder case of Kiesha Jenkins, the trans woman who was gunned down earlier in October.

Redding is one of several men who allegedly brutally attacked Jenkins on October 6th before one of them shot her. During a press conference on October 12th, Captain James Clark, the commanding officer of the Philadelphia Police Homicide Unit, claimed that Redding had been “helping [the police] out” during their investigation, and that it didn’t appear that Redding was the one who pulled the trigger that killed Jenkins.

Yet, none of the other men have been arrested: Philadelphia Police Sergeant Palmiero told us that “no other arrests have been made since the initial arrest,” and that the homicide unit is still investigating. When asked if Redding was still cooperating with Police, Sergeant Palmiero replied that she couldn’t comment.

“He is still in police custody,” she added.

According to the official court docket, during Mr. Redding’s preliminary arraignment on October 12th, he was charged with a host of offenses, including murder, conspiracy, possession of firearm, and possession of an instrument of crime with intention.

Captain Clark emphasized on October 12th that the main motive of the four men who attacked Jenkins appeared to be robbery and that Jenkins was not targeted because of her gender identity.

“This is not a hate crime at all,” Clark said, adding that although it was widely known that the area where Jenkins was attacked was a hotbed for both trans and cisgender prostitution, that the alleged attackers “did not target trans women.”