District of Columbia
Fourth man charged in 2016 D.C. trans murder sentenced to seven years
But with credit for time served, Cyheme Hall could be free in two years

A D.C. Superior Court judge on May 10 handed down a sentence of seven years in prison for the last of four men originally charged with first degree murder while armed in the July 4, 2016, shooting death of transgender woman Deeniquia “Dee Dee” Dodds on a street in Northeast Washington.
Judge Milton C. Lee delivered his sentence on Tuesday for D.C. resident Cyheme Hall, 26, just under three weeks after he issued the same seven-year sentence to Hall’s brother, Shareem Hall, 28, who, along with two other D.C. men, were initially charged with first degree murder while armed in connection with the Dodds case.
Police and prosecutors said Dodds was one of several transgender women that the Hall brothers and co-defendants Jalonta Little, 31, and Monte Johnson, 26, targeted for armed robberies in the early morning hours of July 4, 2016. Court charging documents say Johnson allegedly fatally shot Dodds in the neck after she fought back during the robbery attempt.
Lee acknowledged at the Tuesday, May 10 sentencing hearing that Cyheme Hall and his brother agreed to an offer in 2019 to cooperate with police and prosecutors following their arrests in exchange for being allowed to plead guilty to a second-degree murder charge. The two brothers testified as government witnesses at Little and Johnson’s trial in 2019 on the first degree murder charge and other charges, including armed robbery.
The judge noted that because of that cooperation, prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. issued a recommendation that the two brothers be sentenced to seven years in the Dodds case, a sentence that Lee pointed out is far lower than the potential sentence for a second-degree murder conviction. Under D.C. law, a second-degree murder conviction has a maximum sentence of life in prison.
As part of the plea offer that Cyheme Hall accepted in 2019, he also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit a crime of violence. Lee on May 10 sentenced him to seven years for that charge in addition to the seven years for the second degree murder charge. However, Lee ordered that the two sentences be served concurrently for a total of seven years.
Under standard sentencing practices, Lee gave Cyheme Hall and his brother credit for the just over five years the two have already served in jail since the time of their arrest. That means Cyheme Hall could be released in less than two years, after which he must serve five years of supervised probation after being released as part of the sentence handed down by Lee.
Cyheme Hall’s attorney, Jonathan Zucker, told Lee at the sentencing hearing that his client faces a possible sentence of nine years for a parole violation charge in connection with an unrelated burglary case in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Zucker said Hall was given a nine-year suspended sentence in the burglary case on the condition that he would not become involved in criminal activity during the time of his parole.
Lee declined a request by Zucker that Lee consider making a recommendation to the judge overseeing Hall’s parole violation case in Prince George’s County that the nine years be served concurrently with the seven years for the D.C. case.
Zucker said this means that it will be up to a Maryland judge to decide whether Cyheme Hall should serve up to nine years or less time in the Maryland case upon his release in the Dodds case.
The 2019 trial for Little and Johnson, meanwhile, ended with Judge Lee declaring a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Before the case went before the jury, prosecutors dropped their initial designation of the murder as a hate crime after Lee ruled in favor of a defense motion that there was insufficient evidence to prove a hate crime. Prosecutors said they filed the hate crime charge because they believe the men targeted Dodds because she was transgender.
After initially saying they planned to request another trial on the murder charge, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office offered Little and Johnson a plea bargain deal, which they accepted, in which they pled guilty to a single count of voluntary manslaughter with the murder charge dropped.
The offer included a promise by prosecutors to ask for a sentence of eight years for the two men. Lee agreed to that request when he sentenced Little and Johnson to eight years last December.
Some LGBTQ activists have expressed concern that prosecutors should have pushed for a second trial for Johnson and Little. Activists have said reducing the charge from first degree murder to manslaughter sends a message that targeting members of the LGBTQ community for crimes of violence, especially trans women of color, can result in a lenient sentence of little more than a slapping of the wrist.
Attorneys familiar with criminal cases like this have said prosecutors sometimes offer a plea deal after determining that going to trial a second time could result in a not-guilty verdict based on the circumstances of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Donovan, the lead prosecutor in the Dodds murder case, discussed prosecutors’ rationale for agreeing to a sentence of eight years for Little and Johnson during their sentencing hearing last December in response to a question from Lee asking whether the sentence was too lenient.
“Your honor, we believe that this takes into consideration the first trial and the evidentiary difficulties that were highlighted during the first trial and other incidents that occurred during the first trial,” Donovan told Lee. She added that the impact of a sentence on the victim’s family and the community was also considered. “And we believe that taking all of that into consideration, that it is an appropriate sentence,” she said.
At his sentencing hearing on May 10, Cyheme Hall offered his apologies to the family of the victim and said he was deeply sorry for his role in the incident that took the life of Dodds.
In a written statement submitted to the court, Hall expressed his “deepest remorse” for his actions. “I know that no matter what I say or do, I cannot change what has happened but going forward I vow to dedicate the rest of my life righting my wrong,” he wrote. “I feel like I owe this to the victim as well as the family and my community.”
Lee thanked Hall for his statement but said he could not lower the sentence to six years, as requested by Hall’s attorney, nor could he ask the Maryland judge to consider a lower sentence for the parole violation.
“You did not have the strength to say no to this crime,” Lee told Hall. “You could have extricated yourself from this, but you didn’t. There are some things you can’t get out of,” Lee said. “It was shameful what you did.”
District of Columbia
LGBTQ-friendly senior living community to open near Dupont Circle
Luxury assisted living apartments located in the former Fairfax Hotel

An upscale senior and assisted living apartment building located two blocks from Dupont Circle, which is scheduled to hold a grand opening ceremony on Feb. 12, has announced it is “LGBTQ+ friendly.”
A statement released by the new seniors home, called the Inspir Embassy Row, located at 2100 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., says it is proud to have received recognition as a SAGECare Platinum Credentialed Provider from the New York City-based LGBTQ seniors advocacy and training group SAGE.
“To earn this prestigious credential, a minimum of 80 percent of Inspir’s management and non-management staff completed comprehensive training in LGBTQ+ aging cultural competency,” the statement says.
“The program covered crucial topics including historical and contemporary LGBTQ+ struggles, proper terminology usage related to sexual orientation and gender identity, and strategies to address the unique challenges faced by this demographic,” according to the statement sent to the Washington Blade.
Inspir Embassy Row’s general manager, Tim Cox, who is gay and said he lives with his husband just five blocks from the soon to open facility, provided the Washington Blade with a tour of the senior living building. He said it includes 174 apartments, including studio apartments and one and two-bedroom apartments.

Residents have signed up for about 45 of the apartments so far, Cox said, including some LGBTQ residents, who will begin moving in on Feb. 18. He said the upscale building is open to seniors who currently do not need assisted living services as well as those who need different levels of care, including memory loss care.
He said a doctor and nurse practitioner will be among the staff team providing services for residents. Although most of the apartments have a kitchenette with a refrigerator and microwave but no cooktop and a limited number have full kitchens, Cox said three meals a day will be served in the building’s large, first floor dining room. The building also includes common areas with spaces for entertainment such as the showing of movies and a large grand piano for visiting performers.
“At Inspir Embassy Row, we’re dedicated to creating an inclusive environment that celebrates the diversity of our residents,” Cox said in the statement released by the building, which is the former home of the Fairfax Hotel.

“This SAGECare certification is a testament to our commitment to providing personalized, compassionate care that respects and honors the identities and experiences of all our residents, including those in the LGBTQ+ community,” Cox said.
He added, “Our goal is to create a home where every resident feels valued, respected and free to be themselves. The SAGECare certification is just the beginning of our journey to set a new standard for inclusive senior living in Washington, D.C.”
But the monthly rent for residents of Inspir Embassy Row will likely place it out of reach for many potential senior residents. Cox said the monthly rent for a one-room studio apartment is $8,100, with the monthly cost of a one-bedroom apartment ranging from $11,500 to about $15,000. A two-bedroom apartment will cost $18,500 per month.
Some of those costs will be covered for residents who have long-term care insurance, Cox said.
Asked if potential residents who can afford the monthly costs at Inspir Embassy Row would be better off staying in their own homes and hiring staff and others to comfortably assist them, Cox said Inspir provides far more than just meals and a place to stay.

When remaining at your own home “you’re isolated, you’re lonely, you don’t have activities,” he said. “When you have people coming to care for you, they’re not there as companions,” Cox said. “So, for this, we give them opportunities. We take them to the Kennedy Center. We have music here on a daily basis.”
Cox added, “We have authors come in. We have speakers that are renowned coming in. Since we’re on Embassy Row, we’ll have ambassadors come in to introduce their country. So, really it is being able to get to know our community better and being social, interactive.”
The statement released by Inspir Embassy Row says the facility will provide “LGBTQ+ specific activities, events, or support groups to allow residents the opportunity to share similar experiences with other residents,” and there will be “partnerships with local LGBTQ+ organizations.”

District of Columbia
Officials praise D.C. Office of LGBTQ Affairs, raise concern over funding delays
Leaders of local advocacy groups testify at Council oversight hearing

Officials with five local LGBTQ community organizations and officials with another four groups that also provide services for LGBTQ D.C. residents testified before a D.C. Council performance oversight hearing on Jan. 30 that examined the work of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
The hearing, which also examined the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs and Office of Religious Affairs, was called by D.C Council member Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) in her role as chair of the Council’s Committee on Public Works and Operations.
Nearly all the witnesses praised what they called the LGBTQ Affairs Office’s longstanding support for the D.C. LGBTQ community through a wide range of services and programs and what they called the “dedicated” work of its director, Japer Bowles.
Officials with at least four of the LGBTQ organizations, including the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition and the LGBTQ youth advisory group SMYAL, expressed concern over what they called long delays in funding from grants awarded to LGBTQ and LGBTQ supportive groups by the Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
Several of the witnesses, including Kimberley Bush, executive director of the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, who submitted written testimony, said the funding delays were being caused by other D.C. government agencies that administer city grant programs.
Bush stated that the delays in funding for the LGBTQ+ Community Center for a $50,000 Community Development Grant and a $50,000 Violence Prevention and Response Team (VPART) Grant, “by no fault” of the LGBTQ Affairs Office, “caused extraordinary and substantial financial strain on our cash flow.”
Heidi Ellis, coordinator of the D.C. LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition, raised a related issue of concern that the mayor’s office, based on “shifting priorities,” sometimes significantly lowers the level of grant funds from the Office of LGBTQ Affairs to community-based LGBTQ grant recipients.
Ellis and other witnesses at the hearing referred to this as “yo-yo funding and shifting of mayoral priorities” that they said makes it difficult for LGBTQ groups receiving city grants to continue their programs and services.
In his own testimony, and in response to questions from Nadeau and D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), who is the Council’s only gay member, LGBTQ Affairs Office Director Bowles said some of the delays in grant payments were due to a vacancy in the office staff position that administers the grants, which he said has now been filled.
Among other things, Bowles said the complexity of the grant approval process, which he said involves “different layers of funding decisions” by other D.C. government offices, also has caused some delays. He said that despite what he called some of his office’s challenges, the office continues to expand its role in supporting the local LGBTQ community.
“With Mayor Bowser’s leadership and support, I’m proud to have led efforts that transformed the office,” he stated in his testimony. “We secured the bid for WorldPride 2025, expanded our grant programs from $75,000 to over $6 million, revamped our community engagement strategy, and much more,” he said.
“These changes have had a direct impact on addressing public safety concerns and providing housing and support to vulnerable residents,” he added. According to Bowles, his office’s LGBTQIA+ Community Development Grant program saw a record expansion in fiscal year 2024, with more than $1 million awarded to 29 community-based organizations. (The Washington Blade has been a recipient of a grant that funds a journalism fellow who reports on local LGBTQ community news.)
“These grants support a wide range of LGBTQIA+ dedicated initiatives, including mental health counseling, youth leadership, and arts and culture projects,” he said. “As part of our broader advocacy efforts, we secured funding for the Violence Prevention and Response Team, which provides trauma-informed legal and counseling services to survivors of hate-based incidents.”
Among the LGBTQ officials who praised Bowles’s work and the LGBTQ Affairs Office while raising concerns about the office’s ability to carry out its ambitious programs was Vincent Slatt, chair of the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission’s Rainbow Caucus. The caucus currently consists of 38 out LGBTQ ANC commissioners based in all eight D.C. wards.
Slatt called on Mayor Bowser and the D.C. Council to increase the number of full-time staff members for the LGBTQ Affairs Office from its current six staff members to 10 or 11 full-time staffers.
“To address these challenges, we strongly recommend increasing the office’s staff to match the scale of its responsibilities and the growing needs of our community,” Slatt told the committee. He added that the office’s current “chronic staffing and budget shortage disparities will become even more concerning in light of the recent and anticipated homophobic and transphobic attacks expected from the White House and Congress.”
The other LGBTQ community witnesses who praised the LGBTQ Affairs Office’s overall work were Rebecca York, SMYAL’s director of Youth Development and Community Engagement; Justin Johns, director of operations for the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center; Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance; and Bo Belotti, development manager for the community services organization HIPS.
In response to a request from the Washington Blade for comment on whether the mayor and other city officials were taking steps to address the issue of grant funding delays raised at the D.C. Council hearing, the office of the mayor released this statement: “Washington, D.C. is proud to support the LGBTQIA+ community. The Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs continues to deliver impactful programs with its dedicated staff, and we are always assessing ways to enhance support across all community affairs offices.”
The Office of the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) responded to the Blade inquiry with its own statement: “DMPED has been working closely and collaboratively with the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center to finalize their grant agreement. We are proud to support this transformative project that is delivering a world-class services center for our LGBTQ community.”
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride announces 2025 theme of ‘Freedom’
‘Cocktails for a Cause’ fundraiser draws more than 100

Organizers of D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Black Pride celebration announced at a Jan. 29 ‘Cocktails for a Cause’ fundraising event that the theme for this year’s celebration is “Black Pride is Freedom.”
Like past years, this year’s Black Pride will take place during Memorial Day weekend from May 23-26 and will be an official event of World Pride, which D.C. is hosting this year.
Just over 100 people turned out for the theme announcement event at the City Club of D.C., which provided the cocktail lounge meeting space free of charge and was donating a percentage of its drink sales to Black Pride, according to Black Pride organizer Kenya Hutton.
Hutton, who serves as CEO and president of the Center for Black Equity, a D.C.-based LGBTQ advocacy group that organizes Black Pride, said the theme was selected in part based on the issues the LGBTQ community is facing in 2025.
“Just looking at how things are going in the world right now, it seems that our safe spaces are in jeopardy,” Hutton told the Washington Blade in recounting what he said at the Jan. 29 event.
“And with the attacks that are happening on the Black community and Black LGBTQ communities, especially on our trans community, coming out with the theme of Black Pride is Freedom is sort of a declaration,” he said.
“It is declaring that we are going to continue being free, we’re going to love how we are freely, love who we want freely, show how we want to be freely,” Hutton said. “We just want to be free and we’re not going back in the closet, we’re not going to go into hiding. We’re going to live out free and out loud unapologetically,” he said.
Hutton said most of this year’s Black Pride events, which include panel discussions and workshops, will take place at the Capital Hilton Hotel.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which organizes most of D.C.’s LGBTQ Pride events and is the lead organizer of this year’s World Pride, states on its website that World Pride events will take place in D.C. from May 17 through June 8.
Among the first of the events will be D.C. Trans Pride, which is scheduled to be held May 17-18, just ahead of Black Pride, which is set to be held May 23-26.
A listing of the World Price events can be accessed at worldpridedc.org.
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