Witnesses Testimonies Implicate A Murder Defendant in Transgender Woman’s Death

By D.C. Witness Staff - January 30, 2019
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

On Jan. 29, the testimonies of three witnesses implicated one of the murder defendants involved in a transgender woman’s murder.

Jalonte Little and Monte Johnson are charged with felony murder while armed and armed robbery, among other offenses, for their alleged roles in the shooting of 22-year-old Deeniquia Dodds on the 200 block of Division Street, NE in 2016. The homicide is being treated as a hate crime. 

A police sergeant, who aided in the arrest of Little, told a jury Jan. 29 that a victim from one of four robberies against transgendered women, identified Little’s car. Apparently, one of the robberies resulted in Dodds’ death. 

Another victim testified that she was strip-searched and called derogatory slurs. However, she said she could not see the faces of the men who robbed her.

In addition to the officer and the woman, an expert in GPS monitoring said Little was wearing a GPS tracking device at the time of the shooting and robberies. Based on the data, it is likely that Little was driving at the time.

Two brothers, 25-year-old Shareem Hall and 23-year-old Cyheme Hall, are also charged with the death of Dodds. D.C. Witness previously reported that the prosecution said the brothers entered into a plea agreement and plan to testify against Johnson and Little. However, as of Jan. 29, a plea agreement has not been filed. 

According to the prosecution’s theory, Little was the driver while the Hall brothers and Johnson performed the robberies. Apparently, Johnson shot Dodds. 

The trial is scheduled to continue on Jan. 30.