Local
Sentencing postponed for two defendants in D.C. trans murder case
Prosecutors, defense attorneys mum on reason for delay
A sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 20 for two of four men originally charged with first-degree murder while armed in the July 4, 2016, shooting death of D.C. transgender woman Deeniquia “Dee Dee” Dodds was abruptly cancelled last week without a reason shown in the public court records.
The D.C. Superior Court’s online records for defendant Shareem Hall, 27, and his brother, Cyheme Hall, 25, shows that a status hearing rather than a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 28 for Shareem Hall and March 4 for Cyheme Hall.
The two men, who have been held without bond since the time of their arrest in the Dodds case in 2016 and 2017, pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in 2019 as part of a plea bargain offer by prosecutors. Under the plea offer they agreed to testify as government witnesses at the 2019 trial of the other two men charged in the Dodds murder, Jalonta Little, 31, and Monte T. Johnson, 25.
That trial ended when the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the murder charge against Little and Johnson, prompting Judge Milton C. Lee to declare a mistrial. Lee agreed to a request by prosecutors to schedule another trial for Little and Johnson on the murder charge, but that never happened.
D.C. police said Dodds was one of several transgender women that the four men targeted for an armed robbery on the night of Dodds’ murder in locations in the city where trans women were known to congregate. Police said Dodds was shot after she fought back when the men attempted to rob her.
The postponement of the sentencing for the Hall brothers came just over a week after Lee, who continues to preside over the case, sentenced Johnson and Little on Dec. 10 to eight years in prison and five years of supervised probation upon their release in the Dodds murder case. But the sentence was for a single charge of voluntary manslaughter, which prosecutors offered to Johnson and Little in September 2021 in exchange for their agreement to plead guilty after the murder charge and other gun related charges were dropped.
The plea agreement included a promise by prosecutors with the Office of the United States Attorney for D.C. to ask the judge for the eight-year sentence for the voluntary manslaughter offense that under D.C. law carries a possible maximum sentence of 30 years.
In handing down his sentence, Lee gave Johnson and Little credit for the time they have already served in prison since their respective arrests. Johnson has been held without bond for five years and six months since his arrest in the Dodds case in September 2016. Little has been held for four years and 10 months since the time of his arrest in February 2017.
William Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office, has declined to provide a reason for why the sentencing hearing for the Hall brothers was “vacated” as stated in the public court docket and why status hearings were scheduled for the two men instead of a sentencing hearing.
Attempts by the Washington Blade to reach attorney Dorsey Jones, who’s representing Shareem Hall, and attorney Jonathan Zucker, who is representing Cyheme Hall, have been unsuccessful in an effort to determine the reason for the sentencing delay.
Also not responding to a Blade inquiry about the reason for the sentencing delay was Judge Lee’s law clerk, who court observers say would likely know the details of the case.
D.C. attorney Tony Bisceglie, who has practiced criminal law, told the Blade one reason for the postponement of the sentencing could be a request by the Hall brothers through their attorneys to withdraw their guilty plea on the second-degree murder charge. Judges have approved withdrawals of a guilty plea in past cases based on the circumstances of the case, according to Bisceglie.
One possible development is that that the defense attorneys and prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office are negotiating a new plea deal in which the guilty plea for second-degree murder is withdrawn so that the Hall brothers could then plead guilty to the same lower charge of voluntary manslaughter to which defendants Little and Johnson were allowed to plead.
“It could be that the government is reconsidering,” Bisceglie said. “There are any number of possibilities. There’s no way to know,” he said unless the attorneys or prosecutors agree to disclose what’s happening in the case.
The public court docket shows that the status hearing for Shareem Hall is scheduled for Jan. 28 at noon before Judge Lee. The docket shows the status hearing for Cyheme Hall is scheduled for March 4 at 11:30 a.m. also before Judge Lee.
Since status hearings are open to the public, it’s possible but not certain that the reason behind the delay in the sentencing will become known through statements made by the parties at those hearings.
At the time of the sentencing for Johnson and Little, the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community’s Anti-Violence Project submitted a community impact statement to the court calling on Judge Lee to hand down the maximum sentence for the two men.
“We adamantly request that the court impose the maximum sentences allowed, reinforcing respectful and impactful consequences to these defendants for their violent crimes,” the Anti-Violence Project’s statement says. “Additionally, we ask that you take into consideration the perceived vulnerability of the victim of the defendants’ violent crimes as a transgender woman of color whose rights and life were targeted in a way that confirms they did not matter to the defendants,” the statement says.
“This victim’s attempt to defend herself from their violence was answered with lethal brutality,” the statement continues. “Her voice is silenced, but the grief and outcry for justice from the LGBTQ+ community rises to honor her death and demand effective and responsive protection for the lives of all LGBTQ+ people targeted by future criminals.”
District of Columbia
Hands Off the Arts to form ‘human chain’ around Kennedy Center
Drag performer Tara Hoot among event organizers
An organization called Hands Off the Arts has announced it is holding a pretest on Friday, Sept. 18, in which between 400 and 800 participants are expected to create a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center to voice their strong objection to President Donald Trump’s call for possibly demolishing the Kennedy Center.
“Hands Off the Arts is organizing a rally Sept. 18 against the president’s defacing of JFK’s memorial, his removal and censorship of art, and the threat to demolish the center if he can’t remake the site in his image,” a statement released by the group says.
The statement says the event will start with a rally at 6:30 p.m. on the Kennedy Center steps and culminate with a “human chain” around the building. “There will be musical performances, testimonials from current and former employees, along with other special guest speakers,” it says
A separate announcement by the group says longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot, who has performed at the Kennedy Center in past years, was among the organizers of the Sept. 18 protest.
The planned protest follows Trump’s decision last year to use his authority to replace the existing members of the Kennedy Center’s board of directors with new members loyal to him. Over the objection of longtime Kennedy Center supporters, the Trump-appointed board changed the name of the center, at Trump’s request, from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
But follow the threat of legal action by opponents who pointed out that the name change could not be legally made unless approved by Congress, the name change was cancelled, with Trump saying he would take steps to restore it later.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, reports in a Sept. 13 news story that because of negative publicity related to Trump’s actions, the Kennedy Center was facing “fiscal collapse” and possible bankruptcy and could be forced to shut down as early as this week.
According to the Post report, a 57-page document presented to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees says the center was facing a financial and structural building crisis, with the recent collapse of part of the building’s inside ceiling, indicating the building was unsafe for employees and the public. Among other things, the document says the Kennedy Center may not be able to make payroll or pay for routine maintenance “within a matter of weeks,” the Post reports.
Some LGBTQ advocates were among those who joined others in boycotting the Kennedy Center to express their objections to Trump’s actions, including a statement by Trump that he objected to the Kennedy Center’s practice of hosting drag performances.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington has been among the LGBTQ performing arts groups and artists that have performed at the Kennedy Center.
“With the future still very much uncertain, now more than ever, the Center needs you to stand up for freedom of expression and against authoritarian overreach into arts and culture institutions,” the Hands Off the Arts group says in its announcement of the Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest.
“You have the opportunity to make a difference — show up with Hands Off the Arts and show your power as part of Hands Around the Kennedy Center,” it says.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Baltimore
Transgender woman killed in Barclay community mourned by friends, advocates
Sophie Lee shot to death on Friday morning
By DARREONNA DAVIS | Denise Johnson imagined spending Sunday with her daughter, Sophie Lee, eating crabs at the park. Instead, she stood on a Barclay street corner Sunday evening surrounded by nearly 100 people who came to remember her daughter, a transgender woman who was fatally shot there Friday.
The 27-year-old woman was found in the 2400 block of North Calvert Street around 1:15 a.m. Friday, Baltimore Police said in a news release.
Lindsey Eldridge, a police department spokesperson, said it’s unclear if her identity had anything to do with her death and the investigation is ongoing.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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, landed an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a new job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Jaime Christopher Pierce on their appointment to serve as a member of the Virginia Governor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Pierce was sworn in on Sept. 3 by Greg Parks, clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Pierce currently serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City LGBTQIA+ Task Force and as a member of the Alexandria Pride planning committee. They previously served on the board of directors of Equality Virginia.
Upon being sworn in, Pierce said, “Public service has been a central part of my life for more than 30 years, and this appointment gives me an opportunity to serve the Commonwealth in a different and very personal way. My career has allowed me to work with people and communities throughout Virginia, and I hope to bring that experience, along with my own lived experience and my involvement in the LGBTQ+ community, to the work of the Board.” They added, “Having Greg administer the oath makes the occasion even more meaningful because of his own historic role as Virginia’s first openly gay elected circuit court clerk.”
Pierce also serves as Circuit Court Services Manager for the Department of Judicial Services, at the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. They began their career in Virginia’s judiciary in 1994 as a deputy clerk with the Virginia Beach Circuit Court and have since held several professional and leadership positions within the court system. Pierce is a member of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management. At the national level, Pierce participated in the workgroup that developed the National Association for Court Management’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guide, a resource designed to help court professionals advance inclusive practices and strengthen access, fairness and belonging within the justice system.
Pierce earned a degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University, and a certificate in Paralegal Studies from Norfolk State University.
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