District of Columbia
D.C. man arrested for killing trans teen charged with ‘road rage’ two years earlier
Child cruelty, reckless driving offenses dropped by prosecutors in earlier case
A D.C. man who was charged last week with fatally shooting an 18-year-old transgender woman outside a Mechanicville, Md., bar on March 24 while inside his car was arrested in an unrelated incident in D.C. in February 2021 for allegedly ramming his pickup truck into a car in an incident police attributed to “road rage.”
Among the charges filed against him at that time was Attempted Second Degree Child Cruelty after D.C. police discovered his three-year-old child was sitting without a seatbelt in the passenger seat of the pickup truck he used to ram the other vehicle.
The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office announced last week that its deputies, with the support of D.C. police homicide detectives, had arrested that same man — Darryl Carlton Parks Jr. — in D.C. on a murder warrant for the shooting death of Tasiyah Woodland in a parking lot outside the Big Dogs in Paradise bar and grill after “some type of confrontation” occurred.
The announcement said Parks has been charged with First-Degree Murder, Second-Degree Murder, Firearm Use/Felony-Violent Crime, Illegal Possession of a Regulated Firearm, and two counts of Reckless Endangerment from a Car.
He was being held without bond in D.C. while awaiting extradition to St. Mary’s County. The Sheriff’s Office statement says investigators do not believe Woodland had been targeted for the murder because of her gender identity. But her family members have disputed that claim, saying they believe the murder was a hate crime.
In the earlier case in which Parks was arrested in D.C. on Feb. 21, 2021, court records show he had been charged with Aggravated Reckless Driving and Attempted Second Degree Child Cruelty.
Charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court stated that D.C. police officers witnessed Park intentionally ram a pickup truck he was driving into another car near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and 2nd Street, N.W. while he was “engaged in a road rage.” An arrest affidavit filed in court says after Parks exited his truck when police arrived on the scene of the crash, one of the officers opened the passenger door and found Parks’ three-year-old child in the front passenger seat with no seat belt on and no child safety seat in the vehicle.
One of the charging documents says the child cruelty charge was filed because “Parks did intentionally, knowingly and recklessly attempt to maltreat D.P., a child under 18 years of age, that is about 3 years of age, and attempt to engage in conduct causing a grave risk of bodily injury to D.P.” The charging document identifies the child only as D.P.
Another charging document says there were four people in the car into which Parks allegedly rammed his truck, with one of them “sustaining injuries.”
Court records show that prosecutors with the office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. on several occasions requested a delay in the proceedings. On one occasion, on June 15, 2022, court records show the judge approved a motion by prosecutors for a “continuance” to delay proceedings due to a “Government Witness Availability Issue.”
Finally, with no reason given, the court records show that on Sept. 26, 2022, Judge Kimberley Knowles dismissed the case at the request of prosecutors one day before a non-jury trial was scheduled to begin.
“The United States of America, by and through its attorney, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, hereby requests the Court to enter a nolle prosequi in the above-captioned matter,” a dismissal motion filed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Creighton and Elizabeth M. Van Haasteren says. “Nolle prosequi” is a Latin term used in U.S. court cases to disclose a refusal to prosecute or a cancellation of a prosecution.
Patricia Hartman, a spokesperson for the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, told the Washington Blade on Monday that the office never comments on its reasons for charging related decisions, including decisions to ask a judge to dismiss a case.
District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats set to celebrate 50th anniversary
Mayor Bowser expected to attend March 20 event
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, members of the D.C. Council, and local and national Democratic Party officials are expected to join more than 150 LGBTQ advocates and supporters on March 20 for the 50th anniversary celebration of the city’s Capital Stonewall Democrats.
A statement released by the organization says the event is scheduled to be held at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery building at 702 8th St., N.W. in D.C.
“The evening will honor the people who built Capital Stonewall Democrats across five decades – activists who fought for rights when the odds were against them, public servants who opened doors and refused to let them close, and a new generation of leaders ready to carry the work forward,” the statement says.
Founded in 1976 as the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the organization’s members voted in 2021 to change its name to the Capital Stonewall Democrats.
Among those planning to attend the anniversary event is longtime D.C. gay Democratic activist Paul Kuntzler, 84, who is one of the two co-founders of the then-Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. Kuntzler told the Washington Blade that he and co-founder Richard Maulsby were joined by about a dozen others in the living room of his Southwest D.C. home at the group’s founding meeting in January 1976.
He said that among the reasons for forming a local LGBTQ Democratic group at the time was to arrange for a then “gay” presence at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, at which Jimmy Carter won the Democratic nomination for U.S. president and later won election as president.
Maulsby, who served as the Stein Club president for its first three years and who now lives in Sarasota, Fla., said he would not be attending the March 20 anniversary event, but he fully supports the organization’s continuing work as an LGBTQ organization associated with the Democratic Party.
Steven McCarty, Capital Stonewall Democrats’ current president, said in the statement that the anniversary celebration will highlight the organization’s work since the time of its founding.
“Capital Stonewall Democrats has been fighting for LGBTQ+ political power in this city for 50 years, electing people, training organizers, holding this community together through some really hard moments,” he said. “And right now, with everything going on, that work has never mattered more. This gala is the first moment of our next chapter, and I want the community to be a part of it.”
The statement says among the special guests attending the event will be Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta, who became the first openly gay LGBTQ person of color to win election to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2018.
Other guests of honor, according to the statement, include Mayor Bowser; D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5, the Council’s only gay member; D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large); Earl Fowlkes, founder of the International Federation of Black Prides; Vita Rangel, a transgender woman who serves as Deputy Director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments; Heidi Ellis, director of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition; Rayceen Pendarvis, longtime D.C. LGBTQ civic activist; and Phillip Pannell, longtime D.C. LGBTQ Democratic activist and Ward 8 civic activist.
Information about ticket availability for the Capital Stonewall Democrats anniversary gala can be accessed here: capitalstonewalldemocrats.com/50th
District of Columbia
Owner of D.C. gay bar Green Lantern John Colameco dies at 79
Beloved businessman preferred to stay ‘behind the scenes’
John Colameco, owner of the popular D.C. gay bar Green Lantern, has died, according to a March 7 announcement posted on the bar’s website and Instagram account. The announcement didn’t provide a date of his passing or a cause of death.
Green Lantern manager Howard Hicks said Colameco was 79 at the time of his passing.
“It is with great sadness that Green Lantern announces the death of our beloved owner, John Colameco,” the announcement says. “Most of our patrons might have heard John’s name, but might not have known his face,” it says.
“He was a ‘behind-the-scenes’ kind of guy who avoided the limelight,” the announcement continues. “He preferred to stay in the back of the house with staff and team ensuring everything was running smoothly so that everyone out front was having a good time.”
The announcement adds, “As a veteran and businessman, John wasn’t a member of the LGBTQ + community, but he was one of the best damn allies our community has ever had.”
It says he “long provided spaces for the queer community to come together” since the 1990s when he owned and operated a popular restaurant on 17th Street, N.W. called Peppers.
According to the announcement, Colameco and his then business partner Greg Zehnacker opened the Green Lantern in 2001 in an alley off of 14th Street, N.W., between Thomas Circle and L Street, N.W.
The announcement points out that the Green Lantern first opened in the same location in the early 1990s before it later closed when the original owners decided to purchase and open other bars, one of which was the gay bar Fireplace near Dupont Circle. Colameco and Zehnacker were able to reopen the bar with the Green Lantern name.
“When Greg died unexpectedly in February 2014, John remained steadfastly committed to carrying on their vision and ensuring that Green Lantern remained part of the fabric of D.C.’s queer community,” the announcement says.
“Over the years, through Green Lantern, John has provided support to many community organizations, most notably Stonewall Sports, the Gay Men’s chorus of Washington, and ONYX Mid-Atlantic with Green Lantern serving as a gathering hub for their activities,” it states.
The announcement adds that Colameco’s family was planning a memorial for him in his hometown of Philadelphia.
“His Green Lantern family will celebrate his life by operating the bar as usual and we encourage you to stop by and join us,” it says. “Community coming together and having a good time – it’s exactly what John would want.”
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride theme, performers announced at ‘Speakeasy’
Durand Bernarr to headline 2026 programming
The Center for Black Equity held its 2026 DC Black Pride Theme Reveal event at Union Stage on Monday. The evening, a “Speakeasy Happy Hour,” was hosted by Anthony Oakes and featured performances by Lolita Leopard and Keith Angelo. The Center for Black Equity organizes DC Black Pride.
Kenya Hutton, Center for Black Equity president and CEO, spoke following the performances by Leopard and Angelo. Hutton announced this year’s theme for DC Black Pride: “New Black Renaissance.”
Performers for 2026 DC Black Pride were announced to be Bang Garcon, Be Steadwell, Jay Columbus, Bennu Byrd, Rue Pratt and Akeem Woods.
Singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr was announced as the headliner for the 2026 festivities. Bernerr gave brief remarks through a video played on the screen at the stage.
DC Black Pride is scheduled for May 22-25. For more information on DC Black Pride, visit dcblackpride.org.
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