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District of Columbia

Death of D.C. gay robbery victim ruled a homicide

Police pursuing additional charges against two juveniles

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Bryan Smith (Photo via GoFundMe)

D.C. police announced on Feb. 15 that the death of gay DJ and hairstylist Bryan Smith, 39, who police say was assaulted and robbed Oct. 27, 2024, in the 500 block of T Street, N.W., has been ruled a homicide.

Police said Smith was found unconscious at about 5 a.m. on the street where they believed he was assaulted and robbed and taken to a D.C. hospital. A short time later he was transferred at the request of family members while in a coma to a Northern Virginia hospital, where he died on Nov. 7.

ā€œOn Thursday, February 13, 2025, the Northern Virginia Medical Examinerā€™s Office advised that the cause of death for the victim was blunt force trauma and the manner of death a homicide,ā€ the D.C. police statement says.

The statement notes, as the Washington Blade and other media outlets have reported, that D.C. police on Nov. 14, 2024, arrested two juvenile males, 14 and 16 years of age, on robbery and assault charges in connection with the assault and robbery of Smith.

 At the time of the arrest, police said they had evidence showing the two juveniles were implicated in three other assault and robbery incidents that occurred on the same night as the assault and robbery of Smith in nearby locations.

According to the statement, D.C. police detectives are working with the Office of the D.C. Attorney General, which prosecutes crimes committed by juveniles, to determine whether ā€œadditional chargesā€ should be brought against the two juveniles following the determination that Smithā€™s death was a homicide.

The arrest of the two juveniles was announced by D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith at a Nov. 15  press conference near the site where Smith was attacked.

ā€œWe are here today to announce the arrest of two suspects responsible for a series of robberies in this community on Sunday, Oct. 27, including the robbery of 39-year-old Bryan Smith, who was walking home in the 500 block of T Street, N.W.,ā€ Chief Smith told reporters attending the press conference.

ā€œOn behalf of the Metropolitan Police Department as well as myself, I send my deepest condolences to Mr. Smithā€™s family as well as his friends,ā€ Chief Smith said. ā€œWhile nothing can undo this senseless loss, we hope todayā€™s arrests are of some measure of justice and a step toward healing,ā€ she said.

Chief Smith also said that police investigators had no evidence to indicate the assault and robbery of Bryan Smith was ā€œmotivated by hate or bias.ā€

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District of Columbia

Doechii to headline WorldPride closing concert

Grammy winner scheduled for June 8 performance

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The Capital Pride Alliance announced last week that Doechii will perform at the closing concert for WorldPride weekend.

Doechii, born Jaylah Ji’mya Hickmon, is a 26-year-old rapper and singer from Tampa, Fla. Since her emergence on the music scene in 2023, she has had five songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Beginning with ā€œWhat It Is (Block Boy),ā€ she has quickly risen into the upper ranks of the rap and music industries.

The Capital Pride Alliance, the nonprofit that organizes Washingtonā€™s official Pride events and is overseeing the upcoming WorldPride celebration in June, announced on Instagram that the ā€œAlligator Bites Never Healā€ performer will headline WorldPrideā€™s free Street Festival & Closing Concert on Sunday, June 8.

This announcement comes just over a month after the self-proclaimed “Swamp Princess” won her first Grammy for Best Rap Album. Her win marks only the third time in history that a woman has won the awardā€”following Lauryn Hill and Cardi B. She also became only the second rapper to be named Billboardā€™s Woman of the Year earlier this year.

Doechii is bisexual and has spoken about the challenges of being a Black queer woman in the music industry.

ā€œIā€™m a Black woman from the South, so itā€™s different,ā€ Doechii told Pink News in an interview last year. ā€œThereā€™s a lot of racism and homophobia, so itā€™s hard, itā€™s very, very hard. Even though I was aware, I didnā€™t feel as comfortable until I started surrounding myself with more gay friends.ā€

Doechiiā€™s bold, genre-blending style and unapologetic presence have made her a favorite among LGBTQ fans, who have embraced her music as anthems of self-expression and resilience.

Despite being fairly new to the mainstream music game, Doechii is no stranger to Washington. In June 2024, Doechii performed a special set at D.C.’s gay bar Trade as part of her SWAMP BALL TOUR. That night, a line of fans stretched down 14th Street and around the corner, eager to see the rising star in an intimate setting.

For more information about WorldPride concerts, events, and celebrations, visit worldpridedc.org.

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District of Columbia

Suspect pleads guilty to drug sale that led to deaths of two D.C. gay men

Prosecutors say defendant sold victim fentanyl instead of ketamine

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Shakers posted this Instagram message about a celebration of life forĀ Brandon RomanĀ andĀ Robbie BarlettaĀ held last year.

A D.C. man pleaded guilty on March 14 in federal court to conspiracy related charges that he distributed large amounts of fentanyl and cocaine in the D.C. metropolitan area, including the sale of fentanyl that resulted in the December 2023 deaths of two D.C. gay men.

A statement released by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia says Jevaughn ā€œLedoā€ Mark, 33, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

He is scheduled to be sentenced June 13 by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan.

The March 14 statement released by the U.S. Attorneyā€™s Office says Mark was initially charged in an indictment with eight counts of unlawful distribution of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin, and distributing 40 grams or more of fentanyl between January and March of 2024.

ā€œOn June 13, 2024, Jevaughn Mark was charged in a second superseding indictment in connection with distributing fentanyl and cocaine on December 26, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of two men, Brandon Roman and Robert Barletta, at their home in Northwest Washington,ā€ the statement says.

ā€œPursuant to the plea agreement, Mark admitted to causing the death of both individuals by selling ā€˜ketamineā€™ (which was actually fentanyl) to one victim who shared the drugs with the other victim,ā€ the U.S. Attorneyā€™s statement says. ā€œBoth men were found unresponsive the day after Mark sold them the ā€˜ketamine,ā€™ā€ according to the statement.

Roman, 38, a prominent D.C. attorney and LGBTQ rights advocate, and Barletta, 28, a historic preservation expert and home renovation business owner, were found unconscious when police and emergency medical personnel responded to a 911 call and arrived at Barlettaā€™s home on Dec. 27, 2023, according to police and fire department reports.  

The reports show Roman was declared deceased at the scene and Barletta was taken to the Washington Hospital Center, where he died on Dec. 29, 2023.

Both men were patrons at D.C. gay bars and their passing prompted many in the LGBTQ community to call for stepped up prevention services related to drug overdose cases.

At the time Mark was indicted on drug distribution charges in June 2024, prosecutors said undercover D.C. police and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents posing as drug buyers approached Mark during their investigation to purchase Ketamine, which is known on the street as Special K, the U.S. Attorneyā€™s office said in an earlier statement.

ā€œIn each instance, the DEA/MPD agents requested to buy ā€˜Special Kā€™ or Ketamine from Jevaughn Mark,ā€ the earlier statement says. ā€œIn every instance, Jevaughn Mark supplied a mixture of fentanyl and other substances, including heroin, but not ketamine,ā€ it says.

That report of Markā€™s distribution of fentanyl rather than the requested drug of ketamine prompted an official with the D.C.-based group HIPS, which provides services to drug users and sex workers, to call the deaths of Roman and Barletta a ā€œpoisoningā€ rather than an ā€œoverdose.ā€

Court records show Mark has been held without bond since the time of his indictment and arrest in June 2024. 

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District of Columbia

Senate passes separate bill to avert $1.1 billion cut to D.C. budget

Bipartisan measure prompts Democrats to back GOP funding measure

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

In a dramatic turn of events, the U.S. Senate at 6:30 p.m. on Friday passed a free-standing bill proposed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that calls for amending the Republican-backed budget reconciliation measure to add language eliminating the measureā€™s call for a $1.1 billion cut in the D.C. budget.

Schumerā€™s announcement on the Senate floor that the bill, which was introduced by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), had bipartisan support prompted eight other Democratic senators and one independent to join Schumer in voting for a motion enabling the GOP-backed budget measure to clear a Democratic filibuster requiring 60 votes to overcome.

The cloture motion to end the filibuster passed by a close margin of 62 to 38, with 37 Democrats who strongly opposed the GOP budget measure voting against cloture. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the only GOP senator to vote against cloture. Ā 

The Senate then voted along partisan lines to approve the budget reconciliation measure that still includes the $1.1 billion D.C. budget cut provision in an action that averted a federal government shutdown that would have begun at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, March 15.

Schumer pointed out in the Senate debate over the budget measure that the U.S. House of Representatives, which approved the budget measure containing the $1.1 billion D.C. budget cut four days earlier, will now also have to vote on the freestanding bill exempting D.C. from the House-initiated budget cut when it returns from its recess on March 24.

According to Schumer and others supporting the Collins bill, the bill enjoys bipartisan support in the House, which some political observers say is expected to pass the bill.

The Senate passed the Collins bill by voice vote without a roll call vote being taken after the Senate approved the budget reconciliation measure. 

The House budget reconciliation bill passed March 11 broke from longtime past practices for budget bills by declaring D.C. a federal agency and subjecting it to what D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowler and city officials called an unjustified city budget cut that would have a ā€œdevastatingā€ impact on D.C. residents.

The unexpected budget cut, if not reversed now by the House, would require the city to make large scale cuts in its current fiscal year 2025 budget that would impact a wide range of city programs, including programs impacting the LGBTQ community, according to observers.

In his remarks on the Senate floor, Schumer said he agreed with his Democratic colleagues who voted against the cloture motion that the GOP backed budget conciliation bill, which is backed by President Donald Trump, is a bad bill that will be harmful to the country.  

ā€œFor sure the Republican bill is a terrible option,ā€ Shumer said on the Senate Floor on Thursday. ā€œBut I believe allowing Donald Trump to take … much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option,ā€ the Washington Post quoted him as saying.

Among those who chose not to join Schumer in voting for cloture to end the filibuster and allow the GOP budget measure to be approved were U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the Senateā€™s only openly lesbian member, and the two Democratic senators from Maryland and Virginia.

But each of them spoke out strongly in favor of the Collins bill to exempt D.C. from the $1.1 billion budget cut.

D.C. officials had initially asked senators to amend the budget reconciliation measure itself to take out the provision calling for the D.C. budget cut. But such an amendment would have been far less likely to pass, and it would have required the House to approve it. With a House vote on that not likely to happen until March 24, the deadline would have been missed to avoid a government shutdown. 

Although Collins introduced the freestanding bill in cooperation with Schumer and with strong support from U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Senate observers believe the Collins bill would not have received as much support from Senate Republicans if Schumer had not worked out a deal with Senate GOP leaders to garner enough Democratic votes to end the filibuster and secure passage of the GOP budget reconciliation measure. 

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