District of Columbia
Man found guilty in 2023 shooting of trans woman in D.C. apartment building
Jury rejected defendant’s claim that victim had gun
A D.C. Superior Court jury on Sept. 24 found a D.C. man guilty of aggravated assault while armed and four additional gun related charges for the Nov. 29, 2023, shooting of a female transgender sex worker in a Northeast Washington apartment building.
Following a four-week trial, the jury found Jerry Tyree, 46, guilty of one count of aggravated assault while armed, one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, two counts of felony possession of a firearm, and one count of attempted possession of liquid PCP.
The jury found him not guilty of a single count of attempted unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
Superior Court Judge Errol Arthur scheduled a sentencing hearing for Dec. 13, 2024. Under the D.C. criminal code, Tyree faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 to 30 years in prison.
Testimony by key prosecution witnesses, including D.C. police investigators and Kayla Fowler, the victim in the case, Tyree and Fowler first met at the intersection of Eastern Ave., N.E., and Foote St., N.E., shortly before 2:00 p.m. on Nov. 29, 2023. Witnesses pointed out that the area is well known as a gathering place for female transgender sex workers.
“After negotiating a price for oral sex, the defendant and the victim walked together into a nearby apartment building, where the victim performed oral sex on the defendant,” according to a statement released after the verdict by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C.
“The defendant then accused the victim of robbing him, and when she denied doing so, the defendant pulled out a small silver handgun and shot the victim directly in the penis before leaving the scene,” the statement says. “Police were called by a neighbor and the victim was transported to the hospital, where she underwent multiple surgeries,” it says.
Evidence presented by police and the two lead prosecutors in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Cocuzza and Daniel Bromwich, showed that on Dec. 30, 2023, a month after the shooting, police arrested Tyree after finding him in possession of a gun that was found to be the same small silver handgun that was used to shoot Fowler.
Police witnesses testified that at the time Tyree was arrested for possession of the handgun at a location less than a mile from where he allegedly shot Fowler on a staircase in the apartment building at 5920 Foote St., N.E., he was also found to be in possession of several glass vials, including one partially filled with suspected PCP.
Police and the two lead prosecutors presented ballistic and DNA evidence at the trial obtained by investigators that they argued proved “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Tyree used the gun in question to shoot Fowler at the apartment building following his claim that she stole money from his pants pocket while performing oral sex on him.
When questioned by his lead attorney, Sara Kopecki, Tyree testified at the trial that it was Fowler who had the gun and pulled it out after he accused her of stealing about $80 in cash from his pants pocket. Tyree told the jury, in response to questions from Kopecki, that he became alarmed and shocked when he saw Fowler pull out the gun, and he attempted to grab the gun from her, which led to a struggle during which the gun fired, and Fowler was struck by a single bullet.
Tyree testified that following the struggle and the firing of the gun, and after witnessing Fowler screaming in pain after being shot, he took the gun that he said had fallen on the floor, and left the apartment building out of fear that if he left the gun with Fowler, she might chase after him and shoot him.
Under questioning from prosecutors, Tyree acknowledged that he kept the gun for a full month until the time police found him to be in possession of it and that he never called police or dialed 911 for an ambulance to help Fowler after she was shot.
Defense attorney Kopecki argued before the jury that police and prosecutors were falsely claiming that Tylee owned the gun based, in part, by his past criminal record of being arrested on gun related charges.
At one point during questioning from one of the prosecutors, who asked Tyree if he knew that Fowler was a transwoman, he replied, “I’m not a homosexual. I don’t mess with men.”
Under questioning from his own attorney, Kopecki, Tyree began crying uncontrollably when asked about his past interaction with police. He told of being mistreated by police in the past and suggested that was why he did not call police immediately after the shooting on Nov. 29, 2923.
“You don’t trust the police?” Kopecki asked. “No,” he replied.
Cocuzza and Bromwich argued that Tyree has a past arrest record with prior gun related charges and that the evidence in this case proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Tyree chose not to call police because he intentionally shot Fowler after falsely accusing her of stealing money from him.
The prosecutors also pointed to Fowler’s testimony that the dispute between her and Tyree appeared to have started when she requested that he wear a condom when she performed oral sex on him. She testified that during oral sex Tyree backed away from her, removed the condom, and masturbated until he ejaculated on the staircase landing where they had their sexual encounter.
Police testimony at the trial showed that investigators obtained a sample of Tylee’s semen from the scene of the shooting and used DNC testing to link the semen to him.
The jury handed down its verdict after Arthur had twice instructed them that they should not render a verdict of guilt unless they believe prosecutors have proved their case against Tyree beyond a reasonable doubt.
In a phone interview Tuesday evening several hours after the jury handed down its guilty verdict, Fowler told the Washington Blade she did not attend the trial following her testimony under court rules that don’t allow witnesses to attend a trial in which they testify. She said she learned about the verdict from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“I was relieved, for one thing, and kind of happy that justice was served,” she said. She said she was living in the area near where the shooting took place at the time it happened, but she has since moved to Baltimore.
“I left the area because it was harsh for me to live in the area after what happened to me. I was scared for my life.” She added, “I had to undergo two major surgeries. I had to wear a colostomy bag for three and a half months to let me urinate.”
At this time, she said, she has mostly fully healed. Asked what message she may have for the community, including the LGBTQ community, she said, “I would like them to be aware of their surroundings. Don’t’ trust everyone. Just be yourself and just be careful about what others may do to you because of the life we live.”
District of Columbia
Capital Pride chair resigns from board after just 10 months
Anna Jinkerson ‘taking step back to move forward’
Anna Jinkerson, who has served as chair of D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors for the past 10 months and has served on the board for the past four years, confirmed she is resigning from the board effective Sept. 30.
Capital Pride Alliance serves as the lead organizer of D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
“I am taking a step back to move forward and plan to stay engaged in the community,” Jinkerson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Serving as a volunteer leader during a period of transition following World Pride was both an honor and a challenge,” she said.
“Throughout my tenure, I focused on strengthening accountability, improving communications, supporting staff and volunteers, and helping position the organization for long-term success,” she told the Blade in her statement. “Meaningful organizational progress requires collaboration, dedication, and a shared commitment to serving the community, and I am proud of the work accomplished during this period.”
In February of this year, during Jinkerson’s tenure on the board, Capital Pride announced it had expanded the size of its board from 12 to 25 members.
Around that same time one of the existing board members, transgender activist Taylor Lianne Chandler, announced in a letter to fellow board members that the Blade obtained from an anonymous sender that she was resigning from the board. Among her reasons for resigning, she said in the letter, was the board’s failure to address “sexual misconduct” within the Capital Pride organization.
In the letter, which she confirmed for the Blade was authentic, Chandler said she and other board members raised “credible concerns” of alleged sexual misconduct within the Capital Pride organization and the board chose not to adequately respond to those concerns.
Chandler told the Blade a Capital Pride investigation identified an individual implicated in a “pattern” of sexual harassment related behavior, but said she was bound by a Non-Disclosure Agreement that applied to all board members and she could not provide further details.
When the Blade contacted Capital Pride for comment on Chandler’s allegations, Jinkerson responded with a statement saying Capital Pride was addressing her concerns.
“When concerns are brought to CPA, we act quickly and appropriately to address them,” Jinkerson said. “As we continue to grow our organization, we’re proactively strengthening the policies and procedures that shape our systems, our infrastructure, and the support we provide to our team and partners,” she said.
In her statement to the Blade this week commenting on her planned resignation from the Capital Pride board, Jinkerson appeared to refer to the concern raised by Chandler.
“I am proud to have advocated for sexual harassment training, supported staff and volunteers when concerns were raised, engaged community leaders in important conversations, and helped advance practices that strengthen safety, transparency, and accountability,” she said.
“As I step away from board service, I do so with gratitude for the opportunity to serve and with confidence in the organization’s future,” she added. “I am taking a step back to move forward, and I look forward to remaining actively engaged in our community and continuing to support efforts that advance equality, belonging, and pride for all.”
District of Columbia
Over 2,000 turn out for Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest
Drag performer Tara Hoot serves as MC, Gay Men’s Chorus of DC performs, attendees shout for Trump to keep ‘hands off’ Kennedy Center
More than 2,000 supporters of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts turned out on Sept. 18, for a rally in support of the performing arts center and a vocal protest against President Donald Trump’s threats to permanently close the center and possibly demolish it.
The event was organized by a group called Hands Off the Arts, which initially called for participants to form a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center’s main building following a rally on the plaza in front of the building.
However, due to a decision by the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center’s board of trustees to close the center earlier in the week and install fencing around part of the building, participants could only form the chain around part of the building, according to organizers.
Drag performer Tara Hoot, who co-organized the event and served as master of ceremonies for the rally preceding the “human chain,” said the large turnout could have fully surrounded the building at least twice had the fencing not prevented a full encirclement.
Among the musicians and singing groups that performed at the rally was the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, which, like other rally performers, had performed at the Kennedy Center in past years. They drew loud applause after singing one of their favorite songs from the Broadway musical show Ragtime, which includes the lyrics, “Will justice be demanded by 10 million men? Make them hear you. When they hear you, I’ll be near you again.”
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Prior to their performance, Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington’s artistic director, Thea Kano, spoke at the rally, reminding participants that shortly after the Trump takeover of the center last year, Kennedy Center officials cancelled a concert the chorus was scheduled to perform there for World Pride 2025.
A Kennedy Center spokesperson said the cancellation was due to a scheduling conflict, but chorus members and LGBTQ activists believe it resulted from policies put in place by Trump and his leadership team at the Kennedy Center following Trump’s statements that he would end controversial “woke” performances that he claimed the majority of Americans disapprove of.
“Now this building sits empty in silence,” Kano told the crowd at the rally. “Let us raise our voices together and bring back the Kennedy Center as it was intended, a place where American culture could be celebrated and elevated, embracing the vibrancy with the spectrum of identify without censure and without politics,” she said.
Among the others who spoke at the rally were U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), and D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large).
Most speakers, along with LGBTQ participants in the hands-around-the-building event expressed strong opposition to Trump’s demand that the Kennedy Center name be changed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
At Trump’s request, his appointed board initially made that name change and placed Trump’s name on the front wall of the building along with the Kennedy name. But following legal action taken by opponents who pointed out that Congress must approve such a name change, a judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building. Trump has said he will take steps to reverse that order and has said he will stop plans to renovate the Kennedy Center building and possibly demolish it if his name is not restored in the Kennedy’s Center’s official name.
Throughout the Sept. 18 rally, LGBTQ participants repeatedly responded to the Trump threats by shouting, “Hands Off!”
Chris Raleigh, one of the founders of Hands Off the Arts and a lead organizer of the Sept. 18 event at the Kennedy Center who spoke at the event told the Washington Blade that more similar events are being planned and he welcomes the support the event has received from the LGBTQ community.
“The LGBTQ community was here first, and we’re following them,” he said. “They’ve been the spearhead; they’ve been the vanguard. And I’m so thankful for heroes like Tara Hoot,” he said, adding, “It’s because they know what it means and how this is a safe place – the theater – for many LGBTQ people.”
The DMV’s own furry group was on full display on the Metro on Sept. 12.
Shutterpaws is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Maryland.
The furry group has been doing the FurRide event since 2024 and has blown up in popularity for furries around DMV. They showcased themselves on the Silver and Blue Lines near the Smithsonian on Sept. 12.
“A lot of careful planning goes into running these events, with the goal being a seamless and enjoyable experience for everyone who attends,” says Zayre, a Shutterpaws staff member. “There’s a lot that you learn just by trial and error, and as Shutterpaws hosts more and more events, our team of event organizers continues to learn and refine our approach to keep things running smoothly and finding new ways to engage with our community.”
With a larger growth of participation in the community comes many challenges with the group, especially when it comes to the Metro rides and organizing.
“The biggest challenge that we face as organizers is keeping things fresh and finding new and engaging venues to host events,” says Zayre. “Recently we saw a lot of success hosting a meet at On Target Battlezone, an indoor NERF gun battle arena where our crew was welcome to show up and play both with and without a fur suit.”
Nevertheless, Shutterpaws receive overwhelming support from the community and partners.
“Across the DMV there are so many amazing places to host a Shutterpaws event so we can pursue our mission of helping connect fur suiters and photographers, and we’re blown away with the amount of support we’ve received from our community partners,” says Zayre.
Shutterpaws plans to do more events for anyone in the DMV who is interested.
Their next event in collaboration with DC Fur Meet will take place at Pitchers (2317 18th St., N.W.) on Saturday. Visit Shutterpaws’ website for more information.
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