Judge Declares Mistrial in Murder Case Following Partial Verdict

By D.C. Witness Staff - March 7, 2019
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

After nearly a week of deliberation, a jury returned a partial verdict March 6. 

Co-defendants Monte Johnson and Jalonte Little are charged in connection to the death 22-year-old Deeniquia Dodds, also known as Gregory Dodds, on the 200 block of Division Street, NE in 2016. Brothers Cyheme Hall and Shareem Hall are also charged in Dodds’ murder.

Johnson, 23, and Little, 28, were both found not guilty of several gun-related charges. However, Little was found guilty of carrying a pistol without a license.

A DC Superior Court judge declared a mistrial for the defendants’ felony murder, conspiracy, robbery and assault charges because the jury couldn’t reach a unanimous decision. A mistrial was also declared on Johnson’s remaining gun charges and Little’s obstruction of justice charge.

Both defendants are scheduled for a status hearing on April 5.

According to the prosecution’s theory, the Hall brothers, Johnson and Little are responsible for a string of robberies that targeted transgender women, which ultimately led to Dodds’ death.

Throughout the nearly five week trial, the prosecution called multiple witnesses including, one of the transgender women who was targeted during the groups’ robbing spree.

The victim said she was strip-searched and called derogatory slurs during the robbery. However, she said she did not see the identities of her assailants.

The prosecution later tried to prove Little had a bias against transgender women. They called a transgender woman to testify about an incident that occurred one week before Dodds’ murder.

The transgender woman said Little offered her money in exchange for sex when she was walking home from work. When she refused, Little pointed a gun at her and told her to strip.

However, her testimony was struck from the record after she and the prosecution violated Judge Milton Lee’s ruling. The witness repeatedly referred to the incident as a “robbery,” which Judge Lee previously deemed “prejudicial.” Later in her testimony, a prosecutor also used the word “robbery.”

After striking her testimony, Judge Lee ruled the defense didn’t have sufficient evidence to support their claim that Dodds’ death was a hate crime.

Brothers Shareem, 25, and Cyheme, 23, also testified against Johnson and Little. According to the prosecution, the brothers entered into a plea agreement in exchange for their testimony.

According to Shareem, the four men planned to commit a robbery, but they didn’t plan to target transgender women. Apparently, they planned to rob an unidentified individual but when they couldn’t locate the person, Little said he knew people they could rob.

Shareem said he did not participate in Dodds’ robbery but saw Johnson shoot her.

Cyheme’s testimony mirrored his brother’s testimony, which the defense said wasn’t a coincidence. Johnson’s defense attorney, Kevin Irving, said the brothers talked about the case prior to testifying. Apparently, the brothers were previously housed in the same jail cell and currently reside in the same unit at the DC Jail. 

The defense also sought to discredit Shareem’s testimony, saying he previously testified in three different cases in exchange for plea agreements. Irving said he cooperated with the prosecution in another case for a lighter sentence. 

Shareem admitted to doing anything he could to get out of serving time, but he said he’s telling the truth now.

“I’ve changed my story to what happened,” Shareem said, “I knew lying wasn’t working.”

Meanwhile, Little’s defense attorney, Brandi Harden didn’t dispute that her client’s GPS monitor placed him at the crime scene. Instead, she argued that he didn’t know they planned to rob anyone. She said Little remained in the car, she also disputed the fact that he was carrying a gun.

A Metropolitan Police Department officer testified that when he arrested Little, hours after the murder, he found a gun. However, the officer admitted he didn’t find a gun when he initially searched Little. Instead, the officer said he found a gun in the vehicle he used to transport Little to the police station.

The officer said the gun wasn’t there before Little got in the car. However, Harden said it’s unlikely an officer would somehow “miss” a gun when conducting a pat down on an individual.

Little’s obstruction of justice charge came after he allegedly wrote “threatening letters.” A witness, who worked in the mailroom for the DC Department of Corrections, said she found letters that included threats against members of Cyheme and Shareem’s family along with their addresses and phone numbers. The letters were allegedly signed by “Block,” which is allegedly Little’s nickname.

However, Harden said the letters had no date, identification or proof of who actually wrote them.

Read more about the Dodds’ trial, here.