Killing of transgender activist not believed to have been a hate crime, Anaheim PD says

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Anaheim Police arrested a man in connection with the death of a transgender activist but said Wednesday they have no evidence the killing was a hate crime.

On June 12, at 10:51 am, the body of Zoraida Reyes was found dumped in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen in the 200 block of N. State College Blvd.

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Reyes, 29 of Santa Ana, was an active member of several Orange County transgender and immigrant rights advocacy groups and her death prompted concern she had been targeted.

But so far the investigation has not uncovered any evidence to indicate Reyes was specifically targeted, and detectives are not investigating the homicide as a hate crime, the Anaheim PD said in a news release Wednesday.

At 9:25 a.m. Tuesday, police arrested Randy Lee Parkerson, 38, in his car in the 200 block of E. Katella Ave. Parkerson, on suspicious of killing Reyes. He was booked at the Anaheim Police Department Temporary Detention Facility on suspicion of murder and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Police did not disclose how they connected Parkerson to the killing.