Local
Another gay murder victim in Baltimore
Man accused of stabbing boyfriend
Jermaine Jackson, 28, was arrested and charged in the homicide of his boyfriend. (Photo courtesy Baltimore City Police)
Less than three weeks after Tamala Harris was charged in connection with the stabbing death of her girlfriend Tekeya Amanda Johnson in the 6000 block of Amberwood Road in Northeast Baltimore, another murder involving a gay couple allegedly occurred on Oct. 11.
Andre Nicholas, 28, who performed a variety of handyman jobs at Club Bunns, was found dead in the basement of his boyfriend’s mother’s home at the 2500 block of Garrett Ave. Nicholas’ boyfriend of about a year and a half, Jermaine Jackson, also 28, was arrested and charged in the homicide.
According to police charging documents, Jackson’s mother told police that the suspect was in the basement of her house with a male friend when she left the dwelling in the morning. She reported that she returned home around 6 p.m. to cook dinner when her son came up from his room in the basement telling her there was a dead body in his bed.
Jackson then told his mother to get important papers together because they needed to leave the house. When she asked what happened, Jackson told his mother, “he choked and stabbed Nicholas because the victim wanted him to do something he didn’t want to do,” police wrote in the documents.” What that alleged request entailed has not yet been identified.
The mother walked partway down the steps and saw what she believed was a body wrapped in plastic on Jackson’s bed. She then called police and the fire department. Upon arriving at the scene, police discovered a male wrapped in a sheet and plastic suffering from apparent stab wounds. Nicholas was pronounced dead at the scene.
A photo of the corpse was posted on Jackson’s Facebook page then removed following protests from the victim’s friends. Police are reportedly investigating how the photo was posted during the time Jackson was in custody.
Mark McLaurin, a close friend of Nicholas who knew the couple well, told the Blade that Nicholas frequently spent the night at Jackson’s mother’s home. “Andre was always the much bigger personality, and Jermaine was more quiet and laid back but not at all standoffish, almost shy but affable and approachable. It’s impossible to know what happened that day but I never would have guessed in a million years that Jermaine would kill Andre.”
McLaurin, a D.C. resident and political director for the Service Employees International Union Local 500 added, “Our community has lost so many, but this one is particularly hard.”
Court documents indicate Jackson was charged with Murder in the First Degree, Murder in the Second Degree, Assault in the First Degree, Assault in the Second Degree, Possession of a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to Injure and Possession of a Concealed Dangerous Weapon.
A preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 18 in District Court at 1400 E. North Ave. in Baltimore.
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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.).
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