Deeniquia Dodds (Courtesy of MPD)

Deeniquia Dodds (Courtesy of MPD)

Update: On September 19, D.C. Police announced an additional arrest in the murder of Deeniquia Dodds.

Police arrested 26-year old Jalonte Little of Southeast D.C. on Monday and charged him with first degree felony murder while armed.

MPD spokesperson Rachel Schaerr declined to say whether police believe other people were also involved in Dodds’ death, though emphasized that it is an ongoing investigation.

Original: Interim Police Chief Peter Newsham announced that D.C. Police arrested a man in connection with the murder of Deeniquia Dodds, a transgender woman shot in the early morning of July 4th.

Police arrested 22-year-old Shareem Hall of District Heights, Md. this morning. Newsham said that robbery was the likely motive for Dodds’ killing, and there was no indication that Hall and Dodds knew one another. Dodds was charged with first degree felony murder while armed.

Police were called to the scene of an unconscious person around 3 a.m. in the 200 block of Division Avenue NE on July 4 and found 22-year-old Deeniquia Dodds suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck. She was rushed to a local hospital, and pronounced dead on July 13.

Dodds worked as a prostitute, Joeann Lewis, who raised her, told NBC 4. Her family, who called her Dee Dee, often worried about her safety. When answering a question about whether other transgender individuals in D.C. should be concerned, Newsham said, “If you are a sex worker, there is a potential that you’re in danger.”

Advocates and members of the transgender community criticized MPD in July for waiting too long to disclose Dodds’ shooting.

“The MPD has claimed in the past to be committed to looking out for the safety of people in the LGBTQ+ community, but failing to disclose information about violence against transgender people is certainly not consistent with this commitment,” said harm reduction non-profit HIPS.

Dodds was the first transgender murder victim in the District since 2012, when Deoni Jones was fatally stabbed at a Metro bus stop in Northeast. Another transgender woman was stabbed this August in Northeast.

2.77 percent of the D.C. population identify as transgender, which adds up to an estimated 14,550 people, according to a study by UCLA’s Williams Institute.

After the press conference this afternoon, Newsham and other officers posed with LGBT advocates and some of Dodds’ family and friends.

Police request that people with information about the case call 202-727-9099 or text message 50411.

Filed Under: d.c. police, Deeniquia Dodds, lgbt, transgender,