Local
Jury rejects hate crime charge in gay murder
Defendant found guilty of slaying victim in bedroom
A D.C. Superior Court jury on Tuesday found District resident Justin L. Navarro, 25, guilty of first-degree murder while armed for stabbing a gay man at least 15 times in the back seconds after police said he referred to the victim as a “faggot.”
But the jury declined a request by prosecutors that it designate the Nov. 6, 2009 murder of District resident Kevin Massey, 31, as an anti-gay hate crime.
“The U.S. Attorney’s office had charged the defendant with committing this murder because of Mr. Massey’s sexual orientation, but the jury did not make that finding beyond a reasonable doubt,” the office said in a statement.
In addition to handing down a first-degree murder conviction, the jury found Navarro guilty of obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, and carrying a dangerous weapon. He faces a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
“This murder was marked by an unspeakable brutality,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. “Today’s first-degree murder conviction ensures that the defendant will be held accountable for this senseless and deplorable act of violence.”
Machen told the Blade his office couldn’t discuss certain specifics, such as the jury’s decision not to convict on the hate crime charge, prior to sentencing, which is scheduled for May 24.
A law enforcement source said juries sometimes find it difficult to grapple with bias-related charges in criminal cases because it’s hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt whether a defendant used bias or hatred as his or her motive in committing a crime.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the department is committed to “fully investigate” hate crimes.
“In this case, MPD investigators worked diligently with the United States Attorney’s office to gather all of the facts that were available,” Lanier said. “It is unfortunate that the jury did not find in favor of the hate bias enhancement.”
The verdict in the case came two days after Machen and D.C. police officials joined LGBT activists in speaking at a community forum on anti-gay hate crimes hosted by Foundry United Methodist Church near Dupont Circle.
Machen told forum participants about his office’s prosecution of Antwan Holcomb, 21, who was convicted March 1 by a D.C. Superior Court jury of first-degree murder while armed in the December 2009 murder of gay District resident Anthony Perkins. Witnesses testified that Holcomb was overheard boasting about meeting Perkins on a gay telephone chat line and luring him to a secluded spot in Southeast D.C., where he shot him in the head inside Perkins’ car.
Machen told the forum his office considered but ruled out charging Holcomb with a hate crime in connection with the Perkins murder.
A statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office said witnesses testified during Navarro’s week-long trial that he became angry at Massey about a month before the murder when people saw someone carry him out of the apartment building where Massey lived while his pants were falling down.
The statement says witnesses saw Massey lean over to “pull up the defendant’s pants for him” while teenagers began laughing at Navarro. Some of the teens began teasing Navarro by “saying Mr. Massey was going to make the defendant ‘his next bitch,’” the U.S. Attorney’s office statement says.
The statement says witnesses reported that Navarro turned toward Massey and gave him the “evil eye.”
A source familiar with the case said the building where Massey lived was known as a place where illegal drugs were sold and sometimes used. The source said Navarro was being carried out of the building with his pants falling because he was highly impaired due to alleged drug use and apparently was unable to walk.
According to the statement, during the following month, Navarro became the target of rumors questioning his sexual orientation. It says that on at least one occasion he was overheard “loudly denying the rumors and vowing to kill Mr. Massey.”
On Nov. 6, 2009, Navarro knocked on the door of Massey’s apartment at 4211 2nd St., N.W., and asked, “Where’s the faggot,” the statement says. It says someone answered the door and told Navarro that Massey was in the bedroom.
The statement says witnesses reported that Navarro then went into the kitchen, grabbed a “large butcher knife,” walked into the bedroom and “without any warning began stabbing Mr. Massey repeatedly.”
It says Massey died on the scene. An autopsy later revealed that he had been stabbed between 18 and 20 times, including 15 times in the back.
“In the days that followed, the defendant threatened witnesses, burned his clothes, and told relatives he would not be around for a while,” the statement says. “Five days after the murder, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested the defendant in a hotel room in Southwest D.C.,” the statement says.
The statement says that during his trial, Navarro testified that he acted in self-defense, saying “he did not know Mr. Massey and that Mr. Massey attacked him for no apparent reason.”
Says the statement, “The defendant testified that he believed Mr. Massey was either going to kill him or rape him.”
Attempts to reach Navarro’s court appointed attorney, Nathan I. Silver II, for comment were unsuccessful.
A.J. Singletary, chair of Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence, said the group appreciates the U.S. Attorney’s office’s decision to charge Navarro with a hate crime in the Massey murder.
“As this case shows, it is ultimately up to the jury in the end, but it’s important to fiercely prosecute these cases to stem the growing level of hate in our community,” Singletary said.
He said GLOV will write a community impact statement to be submitted to the judge prior to Navarro’s sentencing that “conveys the effects of this crime on the LGBT community.”
Singletary also noted that Navarro, with the help of his attorney, sought to use a form of the so-called “gay panic defense” in the case.
In past cases, attorneys representing defendants charged with killing gay men have invoked the gay panic defense to persuade juries that their client lost control of his actions due to a fear of homosexuality and lashed out and killed the victim in a state of temporary insanity.
Gay rights attorneys have pointed to evidence showing that some defendants using this defense sought out and targeted gay victims for and assault and robbery and invoked the gay panic defense after being caught.
“We all must be vigilant to make sure that nothing remotely close to a gay panic defense is seriously considered, or worse, upheld in court,” Singletary said. “Police and prosecutors must always be skeptical when they hear the gay panic defense, which as this case shows, is prevalent and dangerous.”
Virginia
Man went on ‘homophobic rant’ inside Va. pub that displayed Pride flags
Suspect arrested on charges of public intoxication, assaulting police officer
The Hawk & Griffin British Pub located in Vienna, Va., posted a message on Facebook last week saying a man was arrested after going on a “homophobic rant” inside the pub on June 28 when he saw that LGBTQ Pride flags were displayed at the pub for Pride month.
“Last night we had an incident here at the pub when a man came off the street to accost patrons in our beer garden because of our flags displayed for pride month,” the Hawk & Griffin Facebook posting says. “He then spit on our windows and came inside to confront our staff and patrons with homophobic rants,” the posting continues.
“Our manager and staff handled the situation very professionally and police were called to investigate and later arrested a man a couple of blocks away,” the message says. “We want to thank the Vienna Police Department for their quick response. We are and will continue to be community focused and we will never stop working to create and maintain a place of inclusion and tolerance,” the statement concludes.
Vienna police charged Justin Wayne Hendricks, of no known address, with misdemeanor counts of being “drunk in public” and providing false identification to a police officer and with a felony count of assault on a police officer. A police spokesperson said Hendricks was also found to be in violation of an outstanding arrest warrant from Alexandria, Va., related to a prior charge of failing to register as a sex offender.
The spokesperson, Juan Vazquez, said Hendricks is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Online records for the Fairfax County General District Court show that Hendricks is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9.
“On Friday, June 28, around 9:28 p.m. the Vienna Police Department responded to reports of an intoxicated individual threatening customers of the Hawk & Griffin,” a Vienna police statement says. “Upon the arrival of the officers the individual had already left the premises but was promptly located at an address nearby,” according to the statement.
The statement adds that Hendricks was subsequently charged with being drunk in public, providing false information about his identity to police, and assault on a police officer along with being served with the outstanding warrant related to the prior charge in Alexandria of failing to register as a sex offender.
Details of the prior sex offender charge couldn’t immediately be obtained from online court records. However, the online records show that Hendricks has at least a dozen or more prior arrests between 2014 and 2023 on charges including public intoxication, trespassing, and failing to register as a sex offender.
Police spokesperson Vazquez said it would be up to prosecutors with the office of the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney to determine if a subsequent hate crime related charge would be filed in the case.
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.
Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June.
Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk.
PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.
Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.
“You know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,” Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
“It was a great year,” he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.”
State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond.
Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state.
Baltimore
Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist
Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.
Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.
A section of Baltimore’s 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.
The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.
A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women “navigating survival mode” living.
“Through compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,” the statement says. “Our programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,” it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.
“This is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,” a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. “Iya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,” it says. “This honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.”
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