UPDATED::Friends Speak Out About Slain Transgender Woman | NBC 10 Philadelphia

UPDATE::  Slain Transgender Woman Was Target of 'Neighborhood' Robbers: Police

A Philadelphia man with a history of violence stands accused of being involved in a robbery plot that led to the murder of a young transgender woman last week.

Police said they're continuing to search for three additional men in the killing.

A tip to homicide detectives led police to Pedro Redding on Sunday. A judge arraigned Redding on murder, conspiracy and weapons charges in relation to the brutal killing of Kiesha Jenkins early on Oct. 6.

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Clark said police believe Redding and his cohorts suspected people may have been carrying money in the high-prostitution area where Jenkins was killed. He said investigators do not believe Jenkins' killing was a hate crime.

"They rob a lot of different types of individuals. They just so happened that night to [target] Kiesha," Clark said, saying she was targeted at random.

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Police are not calling Jenkins' death a hate crime at this point, but said the violent attack happened when 22-year-old woman was dropped off on Wingohocking Street near 13th about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. When she got out of the car, police said, a group of at least five men accosted her, beating her. When she fell to the ground, one of the men pulled a gun and shot her twice in the back.
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Police said they don't yet have any suspects in Jenkins' killing. They are trying to find the driver who dropped her off before she was killed, whom they believe is a key witness in the murder.

"Right now we don't have any motive," Homicide Unit Capt. James Clark said earlier in the week. "We don't know if it's potentially a hate crime or if it was a robbery. We really don't know. It's too early in the investigation to tell."

Friends Speak Out About Slain Transgender Woman | NBC 10 Philadelphia