Suspect Arrested in Deoni Jones Murder

There's some good news according to MetroWeekly in the Deoni Jones case.

According to an MPD press release, after a week long search, 55 year old Gary Niles Montgomery was arrested Friday and charged with second degree murder while armed in the February 2 stabbing death of Deoni Jones.

She was waiting at a bus stop at the intersection of East Capitol Street and Sycamore Road NE, in Washington DC's Benning Heights neighborhood when she was stabbed in the face.   She was rushed to a hospital in Cheverly, MD where she died in the early morning hours of February 3.

Here's hoping and praying MPD got the perpetrator of this senseless murder and he gets what he deserves.   

Will keep y'all posted and let's see if justice is served.

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Deoni Jones Funeral Today In DC

The funeral for our fallen transsister Deoni Jones will take place today at the Holy Christian Missionary Baptist Church.   Address is 5110 Burroughs Ave NE  Washington, DC 20001

The church is accessible via the Washington Metro subway Yellow and Green lines and near the Mt Vernon Sq/7th ST-Convention Center Station 

The viewing time part of the service begins at 12:30 PM EST, with the funeral to follow beginning at 2:00 PM EST .

The funeral directors are asking that all visitors and friends please arrive as early as 12:00 noon in order to receive seating and parking because they are expecting a very large crowd and dignitaries from the Washington DC city council, Metropolitan Police Department and other organizations.

The interment will be private.

Deoni Jones Vigil Draws Over 200 People

Was happy to read courtesy of the Washington Blade that the vigil for our fallen transsister Deoni Jones in Washington DC last night drew over 200 people with the funeral coming this weekend .

But when I ponder what happened to her on February 2,  I'm saddened that Deoni didn't get a chance to live her life and contribute her talents to our community and our people.

I know my brothers and sisters in DC are weary of having these vigils for our trans younglings.  I get tired and angry about having to write about another deceased twentysomething African-American transwoman.

DC trans younglings (and everywhere else this applies) get it through your heads if you haven't done so already that you are now walking Planet Earth in a female body.  You are now a walking target for all the violence aimed at women and if the perp discovers you are trans, that violence can quickly escalate to life threatening levels   So please be careful, be wise, and aware of your surroundings.

The waste of DNA who committed the crime is still at large and there is a $25,000 reward for information that leads to his capture and being brought to justice.

Rep John Lewis Calls Out The GOP On Payroll Tax Cut Extension

An American hero calls out the Tea Klux Klan and the House GOP gutless wonders playing politics with people's lives.

Hey, they don't call the Congressional Black Caucus and its members such as Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) the 'Conscience of the Congress' for nothing.

DC Rainbow Community PO'd Over Willard Sentence

I wrote about the shooting incident in which 26 year old transwoman Gima Brown was shot in the neck at point blank by Darryl Willard, Jr after she refused his request for oral sex and he tried to rob her.  He was arrested in September and was just sentenced by Judge Ann O'Regan Keary on December 6..

Willard plead guilty in September to one count of aggravated assault while armed – a charge carrying a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 30 years with a $10,000 fine

However, there was a plea deal struck.  So what did Willard get?   Eight years in prison for it and another five years supervised release when he leaves prison and the DC rainbow community groups are incensed about it.

Jason Terry of the DC Trans Coalition echoed that disappointment over the sentence. 'While we believe people who commit crimes need to be held accountable for their actions, the U.S. Attorney's Office needs to be held accountable to the victims and the D.C. community at large,'' Terry said. ''In this case, the victim was not appropriately consulted, nor at the right time, before the plea agreement was reached.''

''The lax sentencing of Darryl Willard adds credence to the widespread view in D.C. that the life of a trans-person is not equal in value to other lives,'' said GLOV's (Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence) Hassan Naveed in a prepared release. ''It sends a message to perpetrators of LGBT violence that committing crimes against a member of the LGBT community is acceptable in our society.''.