Deeniquia Dodds (Courtesy of MPD)D.C. police arrested a third suspect in connection to the murder of Deeniquia Dodds, a 22-year-old transgender woman who was fatally shot on July 4. She was the first transgender murder victim in the District since 2012, and advocates have questioned how the Metropolitan Police Department handled her case early on.
Police arrested 21-year-old Montee Tyree Johnson yesterday and charged him with first degree murder while armed. In September, officials also arrested 26-year old Jalonte Little and 22-year-old Shareem Hall and charged them with first degree felony murder while armed.
The incident took place around 3 a.m. on July 4. Police were called to the scene of an unconscious person in the 200 block of Division Avenue NE and found 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. Lewis said that family members, who called her Dee Dee, often worried about her safety.
Advocates and members of the transgender community criticized MPD in July for waiting too long to disclose her 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 a spokesperson from harm-reduction nonprofit HIPS at the time.
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.
When answering a question about whether other transgender individuals in D.C. should be concerned, Interim Police Chief Peter Newsham said in September, “If you are a sex worker, there is a potential that you’re in danger.” He also said that robbery was the likely motive for Dodds’ killing, and there was no indication that the suspects and victim knew one another.
Police are now searching for a fourth suspect in the case. Cyheme Hall is described as a 21-year-old black male, 5’5” tall, 120 pounds with brown eyes, a medium complexion, and black hair. Police said Hall “should be considered armed and dangerous.”
