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.”
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 R. Warren Gill III, M.Div., M.A. on being appointed as the development manager at HIPS. Upon his appointment, Gill said, “For as long as I’ve lived in Washington, D.C., I’ve followed and admired the life-saving work HIPS does in our communities. I’m proud to join the staff and help strengthen the financial support that sustains this work.”
Gill will lead fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and institutional partnerships. HIPS promotes the health, rights, and dignity of individuals and communities impacted by sexual exchange and/or drug use due to choice, coercion, or circumstance. HIPS provides compassionate harm reduction services, advocacy, and community engagement that is respectful, non-judgmental, and affirms and honors individual power and agency.
Gill has built a career at the intersection of progressive politics, advocacy, and nonprofit leadership. Previously he served as director of communications at AIDS United, supporting national efforts to end the HIV epidemic. Prior to that he had roles including; being press secretary for Sen. Bernie Sanders during the 2016 presidential primary, and working with the General Board of Church and Society, the United Methodist Church, the denomination’s social justice and advocacy arm.
Gill earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religious studies, Jewish Studies, Stockton University; his master’s degree in political communication from American University, where his graduate research focused on values-based messaging and cognitive linguistics; and his master of Divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion.
District of Columbia
Judge denies D.C. request to dismiss gay police captain’s anti-bias lawsuit
MPD accused of illegally demoting officer for taking family leave to care for newborn child
A U.S. District Court judge on Jan. 21 denied a request by attorneys representing the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a gay captain accusing police officials of illegally demoting him for taking parental leave to join his husband in caring for their newborn son.
The lawsuit filed by Capt. Paul Hrebenak charges that police officials violated the U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act, a similar D.C. family leave law, and the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause by refusing to allow him to return to his position as director of the department’s School Safety Division upon his return from parental leave.
It says police officials transferred Hrebenak to another police division against his wishes, which was a far less desirable job and was the equivalent of a demotion, even though it had the same pay grade as his earlier job.
In response to a motion filed by attorneys with the Office of the D.C. Attorney General, which represents and defends D.C. government agencies against lawsuits, Judge Randolph D. Moss agreed to dismiss seven of the lawsuit’s 14 counts or claims but left in place six counts.
Scott Lempert, the attorney representing Hrebenak, said he and Hrebenak agreed to drop one of the 14 counts prior to the Jan. 21 court hearing.
“He did not dismiss the essential claims in this case,” Lempert told the Washington Blade. “So, we won is the short answer. We defeated the motion to dismiss the case.”
Gabriel Shoglow, a spokesperson for the Office of the D.C. Attorney General, said the office has a policy of not commenting on pending litigation and it would not comment on the judge’s ruling upholding six of the lawsuit’s initial 14 counts.
In issuing his ruling from the bench, Moss gave Lempert the option of filing an amended complaint by March 6 to seek the reinstatement of the counts he dismissed. He gave attorneys for the D.C. attorney general’s office a deadline of March 20 to file a response to an amended complaint.
Lempert told the Blade he and Hrebenak have yet to decide whether to file an amended complaint or whether to ask the judge to move the case ahead to a jury trial, which they initially requested.
In its 26-page motion calling for dismissal of the case, filed on May 30, 2025, D.C. Office of the Attorney General attorneys argue that the police department has legal authority to transfer its officers, including captains, to a different job. It says that Hrebenak’s transfer to a position of watch commander at the department’s First District was fully equivalent in status to his job as director of the School Safety Division.
“The Watch Commander position is not alleged to have changed plaintiff’s rank of captain or his benefits or pay, and thus plaintiff has not plausibly alleged that he was put in a non-equivalent position,” the motion to dismiss states.
“Thus, his reassignment is not a demotion,” it says. “And the fact that his shift changed does not mean that the position is not equivalent to his prior position. The law does not require that every single aspect of the positions be the same.”
Hrebenak’s lawsuit states that “straight” police officers have routinely taken similar family and parental leave to care for a newborn child and have not been transferred to a different job. According to the lawsuit, the School Safety Division assignment allowed him to work a day shift, a needed shift for his recognized disability of Crohn’s Disease, which the lawsuit says is exacerbated by working late hours at night.
The lawsuit points out that Hrebenak disclosed he had Crohn’s Disease at the time he applied for his police job, and it was determined he could carry out his duties as an officer despite this ailment, which was listed as a disability.
Among other things, the lawsuit notes that Hrebenak had a designated reserved parking space for his earlier job and lost the parking space for the job to which he was transferred.
“Plaintiff’s removal as director at MPD’s School Safety Division was a targeted, premeditated punishment for his taking statutorily protected leave as a gay man,” the lawsuit states. “There was no operational need by MPD to remove plaintiff as director of MPD’s School Safety Division, a position in which plaintiff very successfully served for years,” it says.
In another action to strengthen Hrebenak’s opposition to the city’s motion to dismiss the case, Lempert filed with the court on Jan. 15 a “Notice of Supplemental Authority” that included two controversial reports that Lempert said showed that former D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith put in place a policy of involuntary police transfers “to effectively demote and end careers of personnel who had displeased Chief Smith and or others in MPD leadership.”
One of the reports was prepared by the Republican members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the other was prepared by the office of Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for D.C. appointed by President Donald Trump.
Both reports allege that Smith, who resigned from her position as chief effective Dec. 31, pressured police officials to change crime reporting data to make it appear that the number of violent crimes was significantly lower than it actually was by threatening to transfer them to undesirable positions in the department. Smith has denied those claims.
“These findings support plaintiff’s arguments that it was the policy or custom of MPD to inflect involuntary transfers on MPD personnel as retaliation for doing or saying something in which leadership disapproved,” Lempert says in his court filing submitting the two reports.
“As shown, many officers suffered under this pervasive custom, including Capt. Hrebenak,” he stated. “Accordingly, by definition, transferred positions were not equivalent to officers’ previous positions,” he added.
Virginia
LGBTQ rights at forefront of 2026 legislative session in Va.
Repeal of state’s marriage amendment a top priority
With 2026 ramping up, LGBTQ rights are at the forefront of Virginia politics.
The repeal of Virginia’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman is a top legislative priority for activists and advocacy groups.
The Virginia Senate on Jan. 17 by a 26-13 vote margin approved outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria)’s resolution that would repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment. The Virginia House of Delegates earlier this month passed it.
Two successive legislatures must approve the resolution before it can go to the ballot.
The resolution passed in 2025. Voters are expected to consider repealing the amendment on Nov. 3.
The Virginia General Assembly opened with an introduction of a two-year budget — Virginia’s budget runs biannually.
In 2024 some funding was allocated to LGBTQ causes, and others were passed over. This year’s proposed budget leaves room for funding for a host of LGBTQ opportunities. One specific priority that Equality Virginia is promoting would ensure the state budget expands healthcare for LGBTQ individuals and extending gender affirming care.
Equality Virginia Communications Director Reed Williams told the Washington Blade the organization is also focused on passing three main budget amendments, and ensuring “LGBTQ+ students and their teachers have resources to navigate and address mental health challenges in K-12 schools.”
Along with ensuring school training, the organization wants funding in hopes of “establishing enhanced competency training for Virginia’s 988 Lifeline counselors and support staff to provide affirming care for LGBTQ+ youth.” This comes after the Trump-Vance administration shut down the specific hotline for LGBTQ young people that callers could previously reach if they called 988.
On a federal level, protections and health care access for LGBTQ people has taken a hit, as the Trump-Vance administration has continued to issue executive orders affecting the health care system. LGBTQ people no longer have federal legal health care protections, so local and state politics has become even more important for LGBTQ rights groups.
Equality Virginia has urged its supporters to call their local senators and stress the importance of voting to expand health care protections for LGBTQ people. The organization also plans to hold information sessions and a lobby day on Feb. 2.
Equality Virginia is tracking bills on its website.
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