Local

‘Outrage’ as killer gets 12 years

Court records unsealed; gay victim shot 5 times at point-blank range

Published

14 years ago

May 11, 2011

The United States Attorney’s office this week reversed an earlier decision to seal court records showing the outcome of its case against two young men charged with first-degree murder while armed for the January 2010 shooting death of gay Maryland resident Gordon Rivers in Southeast Washington.

At the request of the U.S. Attorney’s office, a D.C. Superior Court judge on Wednesday unsealed records showing that District resident William X. Wren, 18, had been sentenced on Jan. 26 to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to shooting Rivers five times at point-blank range inside Rivers’ car during a botched robbery.

Wren, who was 17 at the time of the murder, was charged as an adult.

The unsealed records show that Wren agreed to plead guilty last October in exchange for a government offer to lower the charge against him from first-degree felony murder while armed to second-degree murder while armed. Wren also agreed to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to kidnap Rivers while armed with co-defendant Anthony Hager, 23, and conspiracy to rob Rivers while armed with a firearm. Hager was 22 at the time of the murder.

Judge Herbert Dixon also sentenced Wren to seven years on the two conspiracy charges but agreed to a request by Wren’s defense lawyer to allow the two sentences to run concurrently, limiting the total time served to 12 years.

The U.S. Attorney’s office moved to have the court records unsealed following inquires by the Washington Blade, which discovered through unsealed court records that the government dropped its case against Hager, who was also charged with first-degree murder while armed in the River’s killing.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office determined that there was probable cause to arrest Anthony Hager in the murder of Mr. Rivers,” said William Miller, a spokesperson for the office. “However, the office later concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to meet the higher legal standard that is required to obtain and sustain a conviction.”

Miller noted that at the government’s request, the court dismissed the case “without prejudice,” which allows prosecutors to reinstate charges against Hager in the future if more evidence surfaces.

“The murder case remains under investigation,” he said.

Miller declined to disclose why prosecutors chose to seal the court records in the case against Wren, saying issues surrounding the sealing of cases are considered confidential. However, knowledgeable sources familiar with criminal cases before the D.C. Superior Court said cases are often sealed when defendants agree to cooperate with the government in the prosecution of another person charged with a crime. Such cooperation could potentially place a defendant at risk for retaliation, according to the sources, and sealing a case can sometimes protect the safety of the cooperating defendant.

Victims’ rights groups have sometimes complained that the sealing of cases also prevents the public from learning whether violent criminals are being prosecuted and sentenced appropriately.

Chris Farris, former co-chair of the D.C. group Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence, said he was “outraged” that Wren could receive just 12 years for committing a murder and that Hager could get off “completely free” in the Rivers’ murder.

“Take away the gay angle, take away the history of hate crimes against our community, take away everything else, and I just find it incredibly stunning that one person in the case of a murder of someone who was fired on at point blank range five times gets 12 years in jail,” Farris said.

Court documents filed by the government and the defense in the case show that Hager allegedly conspired with Wren to force Rivers at gunpoint to drive the two to Rivers’ house in Maryland, where they planned to rob him of his valuables and steal his two vehicles. But the documents show that that Wren shot Rivers before Hager had a chance to enter the car.

Court records also show that authorities revoked Hager’s parole from an unrelated conviction for armed robbery in 2005 after learning of his arrest in the Rivers case. Miller said the parole revocation resulted in Hager being ordered to serve two more years for the earlier conviction.

Under the D.C. criminal code, Wren faced a possible maximum sentence of 70 years in prison for second-degree murder while armed with a firearm. First-degree murder while armed carries a maximum sentence of 90 years in prison under D.C. law.

Separate sentencing memorandums submitted by the defense and the U.S. Attorney’s Office asked Judge Dixon to consider mitigating factors that would justify a sentence significantly lower than the maximum sentence provided by law. Among other things, the two pointed to Wren’s cooperation with the government in the prosecution of Hager before the U.S. Attorney’s office decided to drop its case against Hager.

Defense attorney Spencer Hecht also states in his sentencing memorandum that Wren recounted that Rivers paid him for sexual encounters at Rivers’ house in Brandywine, Md., during a one-year period prior to the murder. Hecht’s sentencing memo says the sexual encounters began when Wren was 16.

“While the defendant unequivocally accepts responsibility for his extremely serious and dangerous conduct, and is extremely remorseful for taking the life of another, he offers the nature of his relationship with the decedent in mitigation,” Hecht says in his sentencing memo.

“The decedent was someone who preyed on the defendant’s youth, immaturity, and impressionability for a substantial period of time,” the memo says. “On frequent occasions, the decedent would contact the defendant and pay him to perform sex acts upon him. This is nothing less than child sexual abuse and rape – offenses which carry significant prison sentences.”

Hecht provides no evidence or substantiation of the alleged sexual encounters between Rivers and Wren other than Wren’s claim that they occurred. The sentencing memo doesn’t say where the two met or under what circumstances, only that the two met after Wren’s mother kicked him out of her home “because her live-in girlfriend believed the defendant a troublemaker.” His estrangement with his mother resulted in his having no fixed address, the memo says.

“It was during this period of time that the defendant began using and selling drugs and committing robberies of known drug dealers to support himself,” according to Hecht’s sentencing memo. “It was also during this period of time that the defendant met the decedent Gordon Rivers (aka ‘Mr. G’), when he (‘Mr. G’) propositioned him (the defendant) for paid sex,” it says.

The memo also states that Wren moved into a row house where his girlfriend lived at 2409 S St., S.E., seven months prior to the murder, saying his girlfriend’s residence provided him with a stable home. It says he has two children with his girlfriend, Breana Smith, with whom he had been in a relationship for two years at the time of the murder.

Gay activists have long complained that defendants who target gay men for assault, robbery and murder have often claimed, after being charged with such crimes, that the victim made a sexual pass at them that prompted them to assault or kill the victim in self-defense. Gay rights attorneys, who describe such a claim as the “gay panic defense,” have said prosecutors often lack the training or understanding to adequately contest this defense tactic.

Hecht did not return calls to his office seeking comment on the case and on his client’s allegations of sexual encounters between Wren and Rivers.

Miller, the spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said he could not comment on whether his office considered Hecht’s allegations in the sentencing memo as an attempt to invoke the gay panic defense.

In its own sentencing memorandum, the U.S. Attorney’s Office recommended that the court sentence Wren to the “middle range” of sentences available to a court for the offenses to which Wren pleaded guilty. The government sentencing memo recommends that Dixon sentence Wren to some jail time but doesn’t object to the defense recommendation that he be sentenced under the D.C. Youth Rehabilitation Act.

The act allows judges to waive a required minimum sentence of five years in jail for a conviction or guilty plea to second-degree murder while armed. The memo adds, “The government does not oppose a motion by the defendant for a downward departure under the sentencing guidelines.”

In his sentencing order, Dixon did not indicate that he approved the defense request for a Youth Rehabilitation Act sentence.

The government’s sentencing memo describes Rivers as “an accomplished, well-loved man with family and friends who dearly miss him.” It says he was born in Alabama and was a retired veteran of the U.S. Navy who, at the time of his death, worked as an executive assistant with Raytheon Corporation in Arlington, Va., in a job he held for five years.

The government sentencing memo says Wren’s effort to express remorse over his action and the prospects that he could turn around his life in the future don’t offset the consequence of his behavior toward Gordon Rivers.

“The defendant preyed upon Mr. Rivers by taking advantage of the trust they shared, however inappropriate the foundation of the relationship,” the memo says. “And it was the defendant, not Mr. Hager, who got in the car, put the gun to Mr. Rivers, and pulled the trigger five times.”

The memo notes that Wren was “no newcomer to armed robberies,” referring to his own admission that he committed armed robberies against drug dealers in the months prior to his arrest in the Rivers case.

Rehoboth Beach

Rehoboth Beach’s Clear Space Theatre summer 2025 season preview

Main stage musicals include ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Rent’ 

Published

10 hours ago

June 2, 2025

Abigail Hatting

Rehoboth’s Clear Space Theatre summer season is about to begin. (Photo courtesy of Clear Space)

The Clear Space Theatre Company summer season in Rehoboth Beach kicks off in a few short weeks. This year’s mainstage musicals include “Hairspray,” “Beautiful: the Carole King Musical,” and “Rent.”

“Hairspray” will run from June 24-Aug. 30, with “Beautiful” from June 27-Aug. 28 and “Rent” from July 2-Aug. 26. Clear Space is a repertory theater, meaning that a cast of rotating artists will appear in all of these musicals. Tickets can be purchased at clearspacetheatre.org.

Clear Space was founded in 2004 and is considered Delaware’s second-largest professional non-profit theater and the state’s most prolific producer of professional theater. The “clear space” name refers to a “focus on the process, knowledge, and humanity of arts performance: the idea that we find ourselves in what appears on the stage,” according to its website.

Joe Gfaller, managing director of Clear Space, said the theater has a responsibility to produce work for everyone in the region, which gives them the creative space to do more than just one thing.

“That’s what makes everything at Clear Space so joyful and inventive,” Gfaller told the Washington Blade. “We know that this community that we’re a part of includes all kinds of people, all backgrounds, all experiences, and it’s critical for us to present a variety of work that’s going to move each of those people.”

In addition to the three main stage musicals, Clear Space offers Saturday morning children’s theater productions and Sunday cabarets, which will feature Tony and Emmy nominated artists, a “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star, and other popular entertainers this year.

“What we’re always looking to do as we create our full season, including the summer, is to produce work that’s going to delight and excite and engage the audiences that are here in Rehoboth Beach and coastal Delaware,” Gfaller said. “There’s always a mix of old and new, of plays and of musicals. There’s really something for everyone across our season for each year.”

Summer flex passes are available for purchase as well, which allows patrons to see three or more productions in the summer repertory season and save 15% off the price of single tickets. Passes can be used for the three main stage musicals and for cabaret shows.

Gfaller said the musical “Rent” “speaks to what musical theater is capable of doing” and is a piece that is “deeply grounded” in the experiences of the LGBTQ community.

“There’s always going to be a piece of that in the work that we do because we know that the community that we serve here in Rehoboth Beach and beyond has a lot of folks who are connected meaningfully to the queer community,” he said.

Another facet of the company, the Clear Space Arts Institute offers voice, dancing, and acting classes during the summer. This year, many are at capacity and a waitlist is being offered.

The Rebecca Luker Theatrical Partnership was developed within the last few years to honor the life and career of Luker, a Broadway star, after she passed away in 2020. The partnership aims to create professional leadership opportunities in the theater for individuals from underserved communities.

“Through the Rebecca Luker Theatrical Partnership, CSTC is paving a path forward to create a more inclusive space for future arts leaders of color while honoring the company’s mission and Ms. Luker’s commitment to racial justice,” a press release from Clear Space said.

Clear Space has been growing, according to Gfaller. Over the last 21 productions, 17 have sold out all performances. Though the theater seats just 170, it saw more than 24,000 attendees over the course of one year. Gfaller is excited that there’s been so much growing enthusiasm and wants patrons to feel joyful and connected to each other after watching the shows.

“We want people to fall in love with seeing great live theater … in an intimate space. You can see amazing things on Broadway, and you might need to bring your opera glasses to see what’s going on,” Gfaller said. “What’s wonderful at Clear Space is you are no more than three to six rows from the stage anywhere you sit in the theater, and there is something so much more magnetic and dynamic and inspirational about seeing theater in that context, because you feel that you’re there in the room with the artists, while the artists are making it happen. And there’s really nothing that compares to that.”

District of Columbia

Mayor Bowser hosts WorldPride welcome event after Shakira cancels

‘We’re proud to welcome the world to our city’

Published

10 hours ago

June 2, 2025

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

About 300 people turned out for a WorldPride welcome event on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

More than 300 people turned out on Saturday, May 31, for a WorldPride welcoming reception organized by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser that was held at the Rubell Museum in Southwest D.C.

The mayor’s office said the reception was expanded in scope following the sudden cancellation by singer Shakira of her WorldPride welcome concert scheduled for the same day at Washington Nationals Stadium.

In a statement on social media, Shakira said due to logistical issues that also prompted her to cancel a concert in Boston one day earlier, she was unable to come to D.C. in time for the WorldPride welcoming event.

Bowser, Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, and WorldPride organizers were among those who spoke at the reception, which also included a performance by members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington.

Officials with the Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C.-based group serving as the lead organizer of WorldPride 2025 D.C., said that although a welcoming ceremony with multiple speakers was scheduled to take place at Nationals Stadium along with Shakira’s concert, they decided to cancel the entire event after learning Shakira would not be coming.

“It was a transition from one to the other,” said Ashley Smith, president of Capital Pride Alliance, when asked if the mayor’s reception was serving as a replacement to the Shakira welcoming ceremony.

“And it’s to not lose the importance of creating an opening experience for people who came internationally and domestically as well as to highlight the great work of our team and our city,” Smith told the Washington Blade at the reception.

“This has been a phenomenal event tonight, and I’m really thankful for the mayor and her team members who worked to pull this together,” Smith said.

Held in a large reception room at the Rubell Museum, which specializes in contemporary art and is located at 65 I St., S.W., beverages and appetizers were served while the crowd mingled and listened to at least six speakers, including Mayor Bowser.

“Shakira, girl, get yourself over here,” the mayor joked during her remarks at the event. “You’ve got the rest of the week. Get yourself here. We love you. We want to see you. We want to party with you. But we’re going to do it anyway,” she said, drawing laughter and loud applause from the crowd.

“If you live here, you know this,” Bowser said. “If you are visiting us let me tell you. D.C. has long been a leader in the fight for LGBTQ rights in the world. We’re proud to welcome the world to our city, to recognize the Fabric of Freedom as the theme of this year’s activities.”

“I am so proud to thank you, InterPride, for choosing us and making us the home of WorldPride 2025,” Bowser told the crowd. She was referring to the international association of LGBTQ Pride organizations, InterPride, that selects the location of the WorldPride celebrations through a bidding process. (D.C. actually lost the bid to host WorldPride to Taiwan in 2021. Taiwan later backed out and D.C. took over as the 2025 host city.)

Among those who spoke at the mayoral reception event was Rick Andre, InterPride’s co-president.

“Our theme this year, the Fabric of Freedom, reminds us of and honors the past, the fight in the present, and a just future for all,” he said.

“Around the world, the LGBTQIA+ people still face discrimination, violence, and erasure,” he continued. We’re together and we say we are here, and we are proud, and we will not be silenced.”

Others who spoke included Capital Pride Alliance president Smith, Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos, longtime D.C. LGBTQ advocate and talk show host Rayceen Pendarvis, and D.C. mayoral staffer Jim Slattery.

At the time she spoke, Bowser invited more than a dozen members of her staff and officials at D.C. government agencies to join her at the podium to thank them for their service for D.C. residents and support for WorldPride D.C.

“I want to acknowledge the Capital Pride Alliance for spearheading hundreds of [World Pride] events in all eight wards across Washington, D.C.,” she said.

Shakira, meanwhile, posted this statement May 30 on social media: “Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am sad and heartbroken that I will not be able to be in Washington, D.C., with you tomorrow. I hope that I can come back to D.C. as soon as I am able. Meanwhile, please know that I am eternally thankful for your unconditional support.”

Maryland

Rockville hosts 9th annual Pride event

‘We choose to live’

Published

10 hours ago

June 2, 2025

Daniela White

Rockville Pride took place on June 1, 2025. (Washington Blade photo by Daniela White)

Rockville hosted its 9th annual Pride celebration on Sunday.

Organizations and sponsors partnered with the city and its Human Rights Commission to bring the event to life in the Rockville Town Center Park at the Square.

“We want our community to know how safe and how protected they are and that we would support our community,” City Clerk Sara Taylor-Ferrell, who is director of council operations, said. “It’s a gathering for families and friendship; it’s just a good event for our community engagement.”

Taylor-Ferrell said the Rockville community feels safe and comfortable at the event, and she hopes the event will continue to grow bigger each year.

“I think this is going to be a great thing that we can say our legacy is with Pride,” she said.

The Rainbow Youth Alliance, the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, the Barker Adoption Foundation, Maryland Trans Unity, and other organizations gathered along the Square to spread awareness and celebrate the LGBTQ community.

Shane Henise, program director for the Rainbow Youth Alliance, an LGBTQ support group for teens from 13- to 18-years-old, said he wanted to come out and let people know that the organization is there for the younger LGBTQ community.

“I think this is a really hard time for queer and trans youth generally, and we want them to know they have a safe place to come,” he said.

Henise said Pride is more important this year than ever, especially with the “attacks” on gender-affirming care for youth.

“We want to counteract that immense amount of negativity and messages they’re receiving with positivity,” Henise said. “You are who you are. We love you, we support you.”

Speaking in front of a crowd of around 50 people, with hundreds walking around to stop and listen, Mayor Monique Ashton and other City Council members addressed the crowd and highlighted the importance of Pride.

Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass said Montgomery County always leads with its heart.

“We, the LGBTQ + community, are under threat and under attack by this president, by the Supreme Court, and while we have our challenges, there is no place I’d rather live than here in Montgomery County,” Glass said to the crowd. “We welcome our neighbors, we love them fairly and justly. We choose to love and we choose to be inclusive. That’s what pride is all about.”

With rainbow flags waving in the town square, attendees stopped by information tables, a clothing pop-up shop, face painting stations and a voter registration table.

Performers took to the stage in between speakers, such as local band the Nighthawks, members of the Rockville Musical Theater and a drag queen from drag story hour who read picture books to children in the crowd.

There was a sense of pride and family at the event, according to Cynethia Williams, the Montgomery County chair of Free Mom Hugs.

“There’s a sense of happiness and excitement about our future, even though it’s super scary right now in America,” Williams said. “It’s great to see that so many people are like, ‘They’re not going to take this stuff from us.’”

As a queer and Black woman, Williams said being at Rockville Pride was a revolution itself.

“I’m a revolter from birth, (from) being in this skin, so just being here is a revolt. It’s time for us to get together and fight,” she said. “Specifically for Free Mom Hugs, we want to make sure that our presence is known, that people know that we’re here and that … there’s a group of people that are ready to cheer them on, hug them, give them love.”