Murder Defendants to Go Back to Trial in 2022

Thank you for reading D.C. Witness.
Help us continue our mission into 2025 by donating to our end of year campaign.

Donate Now

Over two years after a mistrial was declared in the case of a transgender woman’s death, a DC Superior Court judge scheduled the two defendants to go before a jury again in 2022.

Co-defendants Jolonta Little, 31, and Monte Johnson, 25, are charged with felony murder while armed, among several other charges, in the death of 22-year-old Deeniquia Dodds. Dodds, a transgender woman, was shot to death on July 13, 2016, on the 200 block of Division Avenue, NE. The case is being treated as a hate crime.

Back in 2019, Judge Milton Lee declared a mistrial for the defendants’ murder, conspiracy, robbery and assault charges because the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. The jury did find the defendants not guilty of several gun-related charges, and Little was found guilty of carrying a pistol without a license, D.C. Witness previously reported.

During the June 9 hearing, Judge Juliet McKenna set aside Jan. 26 and 27, 2022, for jury selection and Jan. 28 through Feb. 17, 2022, for the trial. 

Judge McKenna also scheduled another trial readiness hearing for Oct. 12.

Lizzie Brennan and AsiaDee Williams wrote this article.