Gwinnett County man convicted in 2021 shooting of trans woman

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A Norcross man has been convicted in the 2021 shooting death of a transgender woman, the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

Pedro Silva-Renteria, 21, was found guilty of the May 2021 murder of Sophie Vasquez, 36. He was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

According to the investigation, Brookhaven Police responded to a report of a person shot at an apartment on Windmont Drive just after 8 a.m. on May 4, 2021. When they arrived, police found Vasquez lying face down on the floor near the front door of her apartment. According to prosecutors, she was shot multiple times in the head and face.

Police said they interviewed a neighbor who said he heard gunshots, and another neighbor shared doorbell camera footage that showed a man arriving at Vasquez’s apartment, leaving and returning to walk around the parking lot , before returning to Vasquez’s apartment.

Prosecutors said police reviewed Vasquez’s cellphone records, which showed she and Silva-Renteria began communicating on social media several months earlier. Although Vasquez stopped responding, Silva-Renteria continued to text her regularly, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.

On the night of May 3, Vasquez responded to Silva-Renteria’s message and, upon request, sent him her address.

On the day of the shooting, prosecutors said Silva-Renteria messaged Vasquez to say he had arrived at her apartment just before 3 a.m. Prosecutors said this was at the same time a man was caught on camera.

Prosecutors said Silva-Renteria fled to Texas and was arrested in August of that year.

During the trial, Silva-Renteria’s defense team tried to argue that he shot Vasquez out of fear after learning she was a transgender woman.

Prosecutors said: “Social media messages showed that Vasquez was proud of her identity and had told Silva-Renteria multiple times that she was a trans woman.”

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 8 at 9 a.m

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