According to the Washington Post,  Raina Johnson was convicted this week of shooting her ex-girlfriend in the neck in September of 2007.

Raina Johnson

The 35 year old Washington DC woman was handed a 28 year prison sentencing. According to the Post that sentence was 12 years more than the maximum outlined in the voluntary sentencing guidelines for such charges.

The victim, Toni Brown, 32, is not paralyzed from the neck down because of the injuries she endured from the shooting.

According to the Washington Blade the women started dating in 2006
Whether or not Brown knew about Johnson past is unknown. Johnson started displaying a violent side towards Brown

The mother of four had a history of domestic violence charges involving former lovers (boyfriends and girlfriends).
Brown had obtained a civil protection order against Johnson. The shooting occurred outside the Safeway on Columbia Road N.W. Washington D.C., where Brown worked, about 12:15 a.m. on Sept. 25.

Johnson pleaded guilty to the charge in December.

She expressed penitence in court, the Post said.

She apologized to Brown and her family.

"I am deeply sorry for my actions," the Post quoted Johnson as saying. "I want to apologize to Brown, her family, the court and society."

Brown told the Post the first nine months of her relationship with Johnson were "good," but arguments led to Brown's decision to move out of the residence they shared last summer. Johnson had threatened to kill Brown if she left, the Post said.

The mothers of two slain gay men have been close friends — and grieving — for years

By Sofia  Santana

FORT LAUDERDALE - Five years and a half-mile separate the violent deaths of two young gay men who were dressed as women along Sistrunk Boulevard.

Timothy Broadus: 22, shot dead on Jan. 8, 2003.

Simmie Williams Jr.: 17, shot dead on Feb. 22, 2008.

Their mothers have been close friends for years.

"I can't believe it happened again," said Broadus' mother, Veta Calloway, 66. Now, she is hoping Williams' case will draw attention to her own son's death.

She tries to comfort Williams' mother, Denise King, 38, whom she met around the time Broadus was killed. Both families lived in the same Hollywood apartments at the time, and King dated Broadus' brother.

Williams was just 12 when Broadus died, and the two young men never met, the mothers said.

Both cases remain unsolved and do not appear to involve the same killer, police say, although there were similarities. Both victims identified themselves as gay and sometimes dressed as women, and they were both shot by killers who may have made anti-gay slurs.

Both victims were careful to use street names to shield their families from their activities on Sistrunk Boulevard. Broadus was known as "Cinnamon," and Williams was known as "Chris," "Beyoncé" and "Lil' Rick."

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In the days since the shooting death of a Fort Lauderdale teenager who police said was dressed as a woman, a conflicted portrait has emerged.

By AUDRA D.S. BURCH

Simmie Lewis Williams Jr.

Simmie Lewis Williams Jr., 17, was buried over the weekend wearing a handsome beige suit and white gloves. His mother, Denise King, had searched to find the right outfit. It would be the first and only time she would see a suit on her oldest boy.

Simmie, who was openly gay, was found fatally shot early Feb. 22 in a scrappy lot off Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.

He was found dressed as a woman. He was buried dressed as a man.

''Simmie's friends asked me if I was going to dress him as a woman for the funeral. I said no. I gave birth to a boy, and my baby would be buried as a boy,'' says King, 38, her thin voice suddenly firm. ``I don't know . . . what he did or didn't do across town. What I know is that he was gay and didn't deserve to be gunned down because of who he was.''

Fort Lauderdale police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa said Wednesday that the case is not being classified as a hate crime, but that investigators have not ruled out Simmie's sexual orientation as a factor. Police would not disclose any other details of the case.

In the days since Simmie died, a blurred, layered portrait has emerged.

Friends and family say all Simmie ever wanted to do was become a chef, own a fancy restaurant and move his family to California. He had stopped attending high school, with King's blessing, but he planned to earn his GED. Some friends and a relative say he was troubled.

Patricia Ann Young, a close friend of Denise King and her children, cries after she viewed the body of Simmie Williams Jr. in the casket at the funeral home, on Wednesday. She said she saw Simmie grow up. Photo: Charles Trainor Jr

He was shot on a stretch of Sistrunk Boulevard that police say is known for transvestite prostitution. ''The victim was dressed as a woman,'' according to a police statement. Because he was a minor, any juvenile records would be sealed.

Police say Simmie went by several nicknames, including Chris and Beyoncé. His mother says he loved the pop star's songs, but that she had never heard him refer to himself as Beyoncé.

''Simmie had really long hair, and he had his eyebrows arched. But he didn't wear fake nails or eyelashes, and I never saw him dressed as a woman,'' says King, who works at a nursing home. ``I have tried not to think about all this.''

The investigation into Simmie's death has produced few leads. Broward Crime Stoppers has received only two tips, a small number for a homicide. Neither tip panned out.

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Numbers Growth Attributed To More Stringent Sentencing Laws

By N.C. Aizenman

More than one in 100 adults in the United States is in jail or prison, an all-time high that is costing state governments nearly $50 billion a year and the federal government $5 billion more, according to a report released yesterday.

With more than 2.3 million people behind bars, the United States leads the world in both the number and percentage of residents it incarcerates, leaving far-more-populous China a distant second, according to a study by the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States.

The growth in prison population is largely because of tougher state and federal sentencing imposed since the mid-1980s. Minorities have been particularly affected: One in nine black men ages 20 to 34 is behind bars. For black women ages 35 to 39, the figure is one in 100, compared with one in 355 for white women in the same age group.

The report compiled and analyzed data from several sources, including the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics and Bureau of Prisons and each state's department of corrections. It did not include individuals detained for noncriminal immigration violations.

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By Nadine Parks

Adolphus Simmons, shooting victim.

That Adolphus Simmons dressed like a woman was of no consequence to his neighbors at the Bradford Apartments in North Charleston. To them, his shooting death Monday night was a senseless loss of a beloved friend.

The effeminate 18-year-old charmed them with his always jovial and sometimes flamboyant personality, they said.

It was about 8 p.m. when Mary Ivory heard a commotion outside the apartment complex on Bream Road and saw flashing blue lights. A few doors down, Simmons lay on the ground with gunshot wounds, and a man neighbors said was his brother held him in his arms, weeping. A woman cried out for someone to call police, she said.

"It was so cold," said his friend Tiffany Wells. "It seemed like it took forever for EMS to come."

Simmons, a former student at Stall High School, was pronounced dead at Medical University Hospital at 9:08 p.m., Chief Deputy Coroner Judy Koelpin said.

Police were working on leads in the case late Tuesday. There was no indication that his slaying was a hate crime, said Spencer Pryor, police public information officer.

Simmons had moved into the complex about a year earlier and quickly made friends with other tenants. Most notable was his feminine manner of dress. He experimented with creative weave hairstyles and colors, and he became pretty good at it, Wells said.

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By Elizabeth Baier and  Joel Marino

Simmie Williams Jr.

As police continue to investigate two possible hate crimes against gay people, mourners, community leaders and activists united Thursday at an emotional vigil to honor the life of a 17-year-old gay teenage youth at the spot where he was killed last week.

They gathered for about an hour on a grassy patch behind the chain link fence where Simmie Williams Jr. was found shot Feb. 22. A pile of teddy bears, flowers and purple votive candles lined the cracked sidewalk, while the state flag and a rainbow flag flapped above in the wind.

Amid the group of community leaders, Williams' mom, Denise King, stood silently with a picture of her son in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. A tear ran down her right cheek as activists began to speak.

"The time is now to take a stand and say enough is enough is enough," said Tobais Packer, South Florida representative for Equality Florida, a national gay advocacy group.

The group gathered also to bring attention to the attack on Melbourne Brunner, who was beaten Saturday outside The Floridian, a 24-hour diner, by a man shouting anti-gay slurs at him and his partner.

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The Reverend Charles Lanier, 51, was last seen Feb. 15 when he went shopping. Officials with the San Diego police said they have confirmed reports with the Mexican State Judicial Police that Lanier's body was found Wednesday in an apartment in Tijuana. The Reverend was said to have a friend in Tijuana, that he may have been visiting or contacting.

According to NBC News Tijuana State Police Department said the body was found in the Tijuana red-light district. There were no signs of trauma to his body, which was later taken to the Tijuana morgue.

A Tijuana homicide detective found items in the room that may lead authorities and investigators to believe that Lanier's death could be the cause of an overdose. We are not sure at this time what the Tijuana Police found in the apt that may lead them to believe this. But we will keep you posted

Lanier's family reported him missing three days after he was last seen. His 2007 black four-door Cadillac CTS with chrome rims and California license plate number 5YED361 was found on Feb 21 at a parking lot in San Ysidro. San Diego police said an attendant at the lot called to have the car towed and that the towing company reported the car to the police.

San Diego police, Lt. Manny Guaderrama told NBC 7/39 that when Lanier's family members called his cell phone over the weekend, a voice they did not recognize answered the other line.

"His family attempted to call him on Sunday," Guaderrama said. "A Spanish speaker answered the phone and said he was in Tijuana. That person said he purchased the phone at a bar in the U.S. and then traveled to Tijuana."

The family is traumatized by the news but are grateful to have closer. The family was notified by the office manager and not the police.

Anybody with information about the case is being urged to call the police at 619-929-9242 or 619-531-2000.

In Philadelphia twins, Taleon and Keyontyli Goffney, were arrested on February 21st, for stealing $2,000 from an ATM in the Moon's beauty shop at 9th and Washington Streets.

According to Philadelphia's CBS3 (video see below), detectives said the siblings "broke into the store by crashing through the roof" and allegedly stole about $2,000 from the machine. The Philadelphia Police arrested Keyontyli at the scene, but, his brother Taleon escaped and was found in a nearby parking garage a time later.

Police say the terrible twosome, are suspects in as many as 50 similar burglaries in the tri-state area (Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware).

According to NBC News the store owner Young Moon gave this statement "Just over there, they made the hole right here, he took money from the register, and change, too. He left only pennies," Moon said. Authorities said once they robbed Moon's store, the twins went back through the roof to the Wings and More Store next door. The twins stole money from a register, and an ATM machine.

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Reverend Charles Lanier

More information has surfaced regarding the disappearance of Reverend Charles Lanier, a Black openly gay pastor with the Unity Fellowship Church Movement in San Diego.

According to the City News Service:

SAN DIEGO -- A car owned by a City Heights clergyman who went missing last week was found near the U.S.-Mexico line Thursday, leading authorities to speculate that he may have crossed the border and failed to return for unknown reasons.

Charles Lanier, 51, a reverend at Unity Fellowship Church on University Avenue, has been unaccounted for since Friday, according to San Diego police. His family reported him missing several days later.

This morning, investigators got word that the North Park resident's black 2007 Cadillac CST had been impounded in a parking lot in the 700 block of East San Ysidro Boulevard, just north of the Baja California border.
The sedan showed no signs of being tampered with or evidence that Lanier had been harmed, SDPD Capt. Manny Guaderrama said.

The car was parked in an area mostly used by visitors to Mexico, Guaderrama said. Lanier reportedly has at least one friend south of the border, but authorities have yet to track that person down.

San Diego have asked Mexican authorities to be on the lookout for the clergyman, the captain said.
Lanier's family and friends have told police it would not be in character for him to take an extended trip and not let anyone -- not even his congregation -- know where he was going and when he was to return.
Lanier was supposed to host a barbecue last Saturday, Guaderrama added.

Officials urged anyone who knows of the missing man's whereabouts to call SDPD communications at (619) 531-2000.


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Victim: Simmie Williams Jr., shot as he stood along Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, died at Broward General Medical Center.

By Brian Haas and Sofia Santana 

Simmie Williams Jr

FORT LAUDERDALE - The shooting death of a gay teenage boy who was dressed in women's clothing is being investigated as a possible hate crime, while detectives try to determine whether he was targeted because of his sexual orientation.

Simmie Williams Jr., 17, was attacked on the 1000 block of Sistrunk Boulevard by two young men who wore dark clothing and might live in the neighborhood, police said. Williams, who was wearing a dress and was known in the area by his first name or as "Chris" or "Beyonce," was shot about 12:45 a.m. Friday and soon afterward died at Broward General Medical Center, police said.It's unclear what Williams was doing in the area, about four miles from his house, but police are investigating whether he was working as a prostitute, officials said.

Williams' mother said her son was openly gay, but she didn't know what he did when he went out at night, and she didn't know he wore women's clothes.

"I gave him $2 for the bus and he never came back," said Denise King, who lived with her son west of Fort Lauderdale. "He was a quiet person, kept to himself. He had a lot of friends. He wasn't a troubled child. He was a happy person."

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By John Cloud

In the Michael Sandy case, Anthony Fortunato, who was 20 at the time of the crime, was charged with a hate crime, but in court a wrinkle emerged: he said he is bisexual and had visited gay chatrooms for sex many times.

Lawrence King, an eighth grader who identified as gay and wore makeup and nail polish, was 15 when he was declared brain dead on Feb. 13. The day before, he had been shot in the head in an Oxnard, Calif., classroom full of students. Police have charged a sweet-faced boy called Brandon McInerney, 14, with first-degree murder and with a hate crime. According to the Los Angeles Times and KTLA, McInerney and some other boys accosted King about his sexuality on Feb. 11. Students apparently often taunted King, who didn't even have a safe home to return to after school: he was living in a shelter for abused and troubled children.

The crime, a chilling execution carried out in a typical suburban school — allegedly by a boy who probably hasn't started shaving — has shocked Oxnard and captured the attention of gay and transgender activists around the country. On Friday, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released a statement saying, in part, "Our hearts go out to Lawrence's family — and to all young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender kids who are — right now, right this minute — being bullied and beaten in school while adults look the other way." Another group, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) called for passage of the Matthew Shepard Act, which would dramatically increase the power of the federal government to prosecute hate crimes.

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19-year-old Rashawn Brazell was a good kid; detectives haven't found anything to link him to nefarious activity.

Around 3:00 a.m. on February 17, 2005, New York City transit workers found two suspicious bags alongside the track at the Nostrand Avenue station in Brooklyn. It would spark the investigation of one of the most gruesome crimes New York has seen.

One of the bags was a black trash bag. Inside it was a blue trash bag, and inside that were the body parts of a young black male.

The other bag was a beige and black tool bag with wheels and an insignia on the side that says "Rooster". Inside this bag the police found blood-stained drill bits and other tools. Police later learned this bag was one of only 15 bags made as a prototype and sold to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 2001.

On February 23, 2005, workers at the Humboldt Street recycling plant in New York made another gruesome discovery -- more body parts were found inside a blue trash bag which had been stuffed inside a black trash bag. A day after that, workers at the recycling plant found yet another black trash bag which contained a blue bag of body parts.

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By Seth Hemmelgarn

John Alfred Dennis Jr.

A college teacher from Oakland who was found dead in a car in San Mateo County was gay, the Bay Area Reporter has learned from people who knew him. Friends recalled John Alfred Dennis Jr. as someone who worked hard to ensure students' success, and expressed devastation at his death.

Oakland Police Sergeant Roland Holmgren told the B.A.R. Wednesday that Troy Thomas, 43, was arrested in connection with the murder of Dennis and that police will present the case to the district attorney's office.

In an e-mail, Holmgren wrote that Oakland homicide investigators interviewed Thomas and that he confessed to killing Dennis, 59. An autopsy conducted by the San Mateo County Coroner's office revealed that Dennis died due to a gunshot wound, according to Holmgren.

The incident became known when San Mateo County Sheriff's Deputy Keith O'Dell was on routine patrol and came upon a car in the parking lot of Montara State Beach at about 11 p.m. Saturday, February 9.

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More young people are claiming the basic right to express their gender authentically, but fatal violence against them keeps occurring.

Lawrence King, 15, the victim of a school shooting and supposed hate-crime, was pronounced dead on Wednesday February 13th. King was shot in the head Tuesday by another eighth-grader near the end of first period in a computer lab. He was pronounced brain-dead Wednesday afternoon shortly after being shot and was taken off of his ventilator that night after having his organs removed for donation, according to senior country deputy medical examiner Craig Stevens.

The shooter, 14 year old Brandon McInerney of Oxnard, CA. faces charges of murder and use of a firearm in commission of murder

Due to the heinous nature of this crime McInerney faces up to 50 years in prison. It also appears that this heinous crime was caused by his hostility to King's wearing high-heels, makeup, and jewelry, and his being gay.

The shooting occurred near the end of the first period, during an English class that had moved from a classroom to the computer lab, said Jerry Dannenberg, superintendent of the Hueneme School District. Dannenberg said 22 other students were in the lab at the time. The one-story campus, which includes grades six though eight, does not have metal detectors.

McInerney, 14, reportedly told peers that Lawrence was "having his last day,"

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Sao Paulo's Gay Pride

The President of Sao Paulo's Gay Pride Association was hospitalised after he was attacked at their offices yesterday.

Alexandre Peixe dos Santos was gagged, hooded and beaten by an unknown number of attackers.

The association organises one of the largest gay rights parades in the world. Last year three million revellers packed the streets of the Brazilian city in what officials have called the largest party in the world.

Mr Peixe dos Santos was beaten unconscious in the attack and called police when he regained consciousness.

The incident is being investigated by a specialist police unit, the Racial Crimes and Crimes of Intolerance Division.

In September LGBT activists in Brazil spoke about the high levels of homophobia in their society in the wake of the brutal sexual assault and murder of a gay teenager.

Osvan Inacio dos Santos, 19, was attacked in a street near a bar where he had just won the local "Miss Gay" competition. His naked body was found on Sunday morning and forensic examination found his skull had been fractured and indicated sexual assault.

The attack and murder, in the town of Batingas in northeast Brazil, is just one high-profile example of the problems the LGBT community face in the country, which is often viewed as liberal in matters of sexuality.

Tedy Marques, president of the Alagoas Gay Group, told EFE news agency at the time:

"Homophobia is one of the worst problems Brazil faces. It is unacceptable that every other day in our country a homosexual is brutally murdered."

Activists estimate that more than 2,680 gay people were murdered in Brazil between 1980 and 2006.

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By Helen Pidd

A BBC Radio 4 presenter drugged and raped a man he met at a New Year's Eve party after inviting him home to see his art collection, a court was told yesterday. Nigel Wrench, 47, presenter of the PM programme, had earlier been snubbed by the then 26-year-old student during a party in London on December 31 2006, the Old Bailey was told. But after promising the younger man work experience and giving him a line of cocaine, Wrench persuaded him to go back to his flat to view his paintings.

There he poured them both a glass of champagne, but when the younger man took a gulp he realised "not all was well", Constance Briscoe, prosecuting, said. There were "flashes of darkness" and "periods of blackness" as he drifted in and out of consciousness. The next thing he knew he was naked on Wrench's bed and the presenter was putting a pill into his mouth, it was alleged.

"In order to get his way with the victim, he drugged him and he raped him and he sexually assaulted him," Briscoe said.

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by Yusef Najafi

Young gay man killed in Virginia robbery

Darius Cooke with photo of Keith Jamar Truesdale (Photo by Yusef Najafi)

Darius Cooke no longer sleeps in the bed he once shared with Keith Jamar Truesdale, his partner of nearly two years. Until he moves out of their Woodbridge, Va., apartment, Cooke says he'll be sleeping on the living room couch.

It's not a situation Cooke, 21, could have predicted just a week and a half ago when he and Truesdale, 23, were finalizing plans to move into a new ''rent-to-own'' townhouse. Just nine months ago, they exchanged commitment rings marking their one-year anniversary.

A single bullet was all it took to obliterate this young couple's happy dreams for the future.

It was Jan. 22 and Truesdale was managing the Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits restaurant in Woodbridge. It was not the Dale City, Va., outlet where he usually worked. He was just helping out, filling in.

Cooke saw Truesdale for the last time that day as he stopped by the restaurant to collect some of the paperwork needed for their upcoming move. After running some errands in the neighborhood, fate allowed Cooke to be in an adjacent bank parking lot as Truesdale took a break. He walked over and surprised Cooke.

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San Francisco's openly gay Deputy Distict Attorney San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Paul Henderson discusses Michael Vick and dog fighting statutes on Nancy Grace a few months ago.

 

Police in Christchurch are seeking witnesses after a 57-year-old man was sexually attacked and robbed in a park toilet block.

The victim, who stopped to go to the toilet on his way home from a meeting last night, was grabbed from behind by a man and sexually assaulted in the toilet block at Burwood Park between 11pm and midnight.

Detective Sergeant Greg Cottam, of Papanui police, told NZPA the man was uninjured in the attack, but badly shocked.

The toilet block, next to the Burwood Park Tennis Club off Cresswell Ave, was not known to be a meeting place for homosexual liaisons, Mr Cottam said.

"It's just a case of wrong place, wrong time,'' he said.

"We haven't got a good description,'' Mr Cottam said. "We're looking for a male and that's about it. Unfortunately there are no lights in the toilet block.''

Mr Cottam said the victim underwent a medical examination last night and the area was cordoned, with a scene guard in place. A forensic examination was being done in the area today.

The victim was "in shock'' and being supported at home today by family and friends.

Mr Cottam said police wanted to hear from anyone who was in the Burwood Park area about the time of the incident.

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A campaign has been launched to encourage gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to report any harassment to Victorian Police.

A series of anti-homophobic harassment posters will be unveiled at the Melbourne Town Hall.

Recent research carried out in the United Kingdom suggests that only 10 per cent of homophobic violence is reported to police.

Alarmingly, a similar trend has emerged in Victoria.

Sergeant Scott Davis from the Police Gay and Lesbian Advisory Unit says police want people to speak up, and send a message to perpetrators that their actions will not be tolerated.

The posters will be displayed throughout metropolitan Victoria and in all Victorian police stations.

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