Local
D.C. man sentenced to 50 years for gay murder
Victim met killer though gay chat line
A D.C. Superior Court judge on June 30 sentenced 21-year-old Antwan Holcomb to 50 years in prison for the December 2009 shooting death of gay D.C. resident Anthony Perkins.
Police and prosecutors said Holcomb, a District resident, met Perkins through a gay telephone chat line on Dec. 27, 2009, with the intent of luring him to a secluded street in Southeast D.C. for the purposing of robbing him.
During his trial earlier this year, prosecutors said Holcomb shot Perkins in the head at point blank range inside Perkins’ car that same day and made off only with a single pack of Newport cigarettes.
“Antwan Holcomb shot a man in the head for a pack of cigarettes,” said Ronald C. Machen Jr., the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, in the statement released Thursday.
“It is difficult to imagine a more senseless murder, but it is not surprising from a criminal who two weeks earlier shot another man in the back, paralyzing him from the waist down,” Machen said.
Machen was referring to a separate incident in which Holcomb pleaded guilty to charges of assault with intent to kill and assault with a dangerous weapon. In a combined sentencing hearing June 30, Judge Lee Satterfield sentenced Holcomb to an additional period of incarceration for those offenses, resulting in a combined sentence of 88 years in prison.
“Today’s 88-year sentence is just punishment for a killer who showed such shocking disregard for human life,” Machen said.
In his trial for the Perkins murder, a Superior Court jury found Holcomb guilty of first-degree murder while armed, armed robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and carrying a pistol without a license outside the home.
In addition to the 50-year prison term for the murder conviction, Satterfield sentenced Holcomb to 15 years for the armed robbery count linked to the Perkins murder. But he ordered that the 15 years be served concurrently with the murder sentence, resulting in a total of 50 years to be served for the murder and robbery of Perkins.
The verdict followed a five-day trial in which a witness who knew Holcomb testified that he overheard Holcomb say on the night of the murder that he shot the “faggy” in the head and robbed him of a pack of cigarettes before fleeing the scene on foot.
In a video recording of an interview of Holcomb by D.C. police homicide detectives, which was shown to the jury during the trial, Holcomb said he called the gay chat line because he knew men who used the service had money and would not likely report being robbed by someone they met through the venue.
But he denied denied killing Perkins, saying someone else entered Perkins’ car and committed the murder. Prosecutors disputed that claim and pointed to evidence showing that Holcomb was the one who shot Perkins.
“I’m not of that nature…I’m a cold-blooded man,” he told the detectives, in explaining why he used the gay chat line. “I don’t like fags. I never will.”
The D.C. group Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence said it planned to submit a pre-sentencing statement to Judge Satterfield calling for a lengthy prison term for Holcomb.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
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.
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.).
Sri Lankan government withdraws support for LGBTQ tourism initiative
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
Trump budget targets ‘gender extremism’
Susan Lucci on love, loss, and ‘All My Children’
How to navigate shifting tenant expectations
Report: Grenell wants Russian ambassadorship
Trump’s war threats trigger rare 25th Amendment discussion
New book celebrates 1970s dance music icons
ROSENSTEIN: Vote McDuffie for mayor of D.C.
