Local

Judge dismisses 2 charges in Wone case

Gay men still face seven charges after Thursday ruling

Published

16 years ago

June 18, 2010

A D.C. Superior Court judge Thursday dismissed evidence tampering charges against two of the three gay men on trial for conspiracy and other charges related to the 2006 murder of attorney Robert Wone.

But Judge Lynn Leibovitz rejected a defense motion to dismiss all charges against the men and instead ruled that prosecutors presented enough evidence to allow the trial to continue.

Her decision came after prosecutors rested their case Tuesday following testimony of more than 30 government witnesses across four weeks. The trial now enters the defense phase, with defense attorneys saying they expect to call about five or six witnesses.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Kirschner, the lead prosecutor in the case, said closing arguments could come in the middle of next week.

Leibovitz dismissed an evidence tampering charge against defendants Victor Zaborsky, 44, and Dylan Ward, 40, saying prosecutors never presented any direct evidence that the two touched a knife that the defense says was used by an intruder to stab Wone to death in the men’s Dupont Circle home.

The judge upheld the evidence tampering charge against the third defendant, Joseph Price, 39, and upheld charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice against all three men.

“The government has met its burden and a reasonable juror could find guilt,” the Washington Post quoted Leibovitz as saying. She added, though, that her decision was not a “verdict” or a “signal” of what she will decide in the final outcome of the case, the Post reported.

No one has been charged with Wone’s murder, and court observers have noted that regardless of the outcome of the trial, the mystery of who killed Wone won’t be solved in this case.

Leibovitz, rather than a jury, will determine the trial’s verdict at the request of the three defendants, all of whom chose to give up their right to a jury trial.

Prosecutors have argued that the knife found near Wone’s body was planted by the defendants, and one or more of them wiped Wone’s blood on the knife with a towel. Kirschner and two assistant prosecutors have argued that the defendants disposed of the actual knife used to kill Wone, intending to cover up for the killer.

Kirschner has said the men know the identity of the killer and that the government believes the killer might be Price’s brother, Michael Price, who had a key to the men’s house. Wone was found dead in a guest bedroom of the Dupont Circle area house where the three men lived at the time of the murder.

Wone and Joseph Price were friends from their days as students at Virginia’s College of William & Mary. Wone decided to spend the night at the men’s house after working late at his nearby office, where he served as general counsel for Radio Free Asia.

Prosecutors have presented numerous witnesses, including evidence experts and police officers specializing in home burglaries, who testified that they did not believe the murder was committed by a burglar or intruder. The witnesses noted that there was no evidence of a forced break in, nothing was taken from the house, including Wone’s wallet and Blackberry phone, which were laying on a nightstand in plain view at the time of the murder.

The defense has argued that the killer entered the house from an unlocked rear door while the three defendants were asleep in their respective bedrooms. The defense has asserted that the men never saw the intruder.

Rehoboth Beach

BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth

Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear

Published

15 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach will host a BLUF leather social on Friday, April 10 at 5 p.m. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.

District of Columbia

Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel

Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.

Published

15 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.

A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).

District of Columbia

D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group

Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award

Published

3 days ago

April 8, 2026

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Wanda Alston Foundation Director Cesar Toledo presents the Wanda Alston Legacy Award to DC Councilmember Doni Crawford at an April 7 award event at Crush Bar. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.

Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”

Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.

To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.

Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.

“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.

“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”

Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.

Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.

A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.

“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”

Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.

“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.

“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”

At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.

Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.