Local
Family calls for hate crime probe in Betts murder case
One defendant sentenced to 40 years; another pleads guilty
Jennifer Altomare, sister of murder victim Brian Betts, with attorney Gloria Allred. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Speaking through an attorney known for taking on high-profile celebrity cases, the family of gay D.C. middle school principal Brian Betts Tuesday called on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether Betts’ murder in April was motivated by anti-gay bias.
Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, who has been retained by Betts’ parents, discussed the possible hate crime angle to the case during a news conference at a courthouse in Rockville, Md., minutes after a judge sentenced defendant Alante Saunders, 19, to 40 years in jail for Betts’ murder.
Betts was found shot to death April 15 in the second floor bedroom of his Silver Spring, Md., house. Saunders and three other teenage males were charged with murder in connection with the case a short time later.
Authorities said Saunders met Betts through a sex chat line and hatched a plan with the other three youths to commit a robbery. Defense attorneys and prosecutors said the youths did not intend to kill Betts and attributed the shooting to a “robbery that went bad.”
Police identified Saunders as the shooter.
“Brian’s family retained me to represent them as victims in the criminal case,” said Allred, who has hosted a radio talk show specializing in legal issues.
“The family has also retained me to explore whether or not Brian’s murder should also be prosecuted under the new Matthew Shepard federal hate crimes law,” she said.
“Brian was a gay man and we believe an investigation should be opened under that law to determine whether a hate crime has or has not been committed by defendant Saunders and if it has whether it is appropriate to proceed with a federal prosecution under that law.”
Police and prosecutors said an investigation found that Saunders and Betts met through a sex chat line and that Betts invited Saunders, who expressed an interest in seeing him, to his house. Sources familiar with the case have said the chat line caters to gay men seeking other men for sex, but authorities have declined to identify the chat line by name.
Saunders pleaded guilty last month to first-degree felony murder in connection with the case. As part of a plea bargain arrangement, prosecutors agreed to ask Montgomery County District Court Judge John Debelius to sentence Saunders to life in prison with all but 40 years suspended.
Debelius agreed to the request at a sentencing hearing Tuesday following emotional statements delivered by nine family members and friends of Betts, including Betts’ mother, Doris Betts, his father, Delbert Betts, and sister, Jennifer Altomare. Nearly all of them wept as they described Betts, 42, as an extraordinary educator, mentor, loyal family member and friend.
“When I received word that our son had been killed in his own home, my world crumpled around me,” said Doris Betts. “These were supposed to be the golden years for me, but instead they will be the saddest years of my life.”
The judge also agreed to a request by defense attorney David Felsen that he recommend that Saunders be placed in a special state correctional facility that provides vocational training.
Debelius noted that under Maryland law, Saunders is eligible to apply for parole after serving 20 years.
Earlier in the day on Tuesday, the second of the three other men charged in Betts’ murder, Sharif Lancaster, 19, pleaded guilty to robbery and use of a handgun during commission of a felony as part of a plea bargain offered by prosecutors. Prosecutors agreed to drop an initial charge of first-degree felony murder against Lancaster.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 11 and faces a possible maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.
The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s office and defense attorneys have said discussions were underway to arrange plea bargains for the remaining two defendants, Joel Johnson, 19, and Deontra Gray, 18.
Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy told reporters at the courthouse that his office investigated the possibility that Betts’ murder was a hate crime and could not find evidence to substantiate a bias related motive to the case.
“If we had seen evidence of a hate crime, we would have charged it,” he said. “And we have an advantage. We’ve seen the evidence.”
Gay rights attorneys have said state and local prosecutors sometimes don’t recognize the nuances of evidence that others might interpret as bias related elements of cases involving gay victims. They note that the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act gives federal prosecutors through the Justice Department authority to overrule local prosecutors and initiate a federal hate crimes charge if supported by a federal probe.
At her courthouse news conference Allred declined to disclose evidence she knows of to support a hate crime, saying it would be improper to discuss evidence until the cases of all of the four defendants are completed.
Some gay activists have speculated that a bias or hate related element might be present in the case if the defendants selected the chat line to specifically target a gay man for a crime.
McCarthy and other prosecutors with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s office have refused so far to disclose specific details about what Sanders said to Betts through the chat line and the events that led to his firing the gun he used to shoot Betts.
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors
The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.
The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.
It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”
The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.
“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”
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