It’s been over a month since a man died inside an underground sex club at 1618 14th Street NW. The club, operated by David J. Butler and the D.C. Wrestling Club, had been throwing near-nightly “Men’s Parties” in Logan Circle for years. The party came to a halt on the morning of Oct. 4, when one reveler died of “blunt impact injury to the head” on the club’s stairs.

Forty-five days later, the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner says that the “manner of death” in the case—which determines whether a death came as a result of a homicide, suicide, accident, or some other cause—is still pending.

Today, D.C. police released a 911 call made from outside the sex club on the morning of Oct. 4. The call, which originated from one of the club’s patrons, points to one possible contributing factor in the man’s death—that party organizers allegedly hesitated to call an ambulance:

The full transcript of the call is after the jump.
Read More ““Men’s Parties” 911 Caller: “They Didn’t Want to Call the Police”” »

On Wednesday, the District of Columbia filed suit to shut down “Men’s Parties,” the underground male sex club operating at 1618 14th Street NW. The lawsuit’s three defendants—David J. Butler, 1618 14th Street LLC, and the D.C. Wrestling Club—face charges of “opperation of a business without a basic business license” and “use of premises for business without appropriate certificate of occupancy.”

The initial documents in the case offer a glimpse into the club’s secretive activities, as well as additional information concerning the fatal accident that occurred inside the club on the morning of October 4th.

Read More “D.C. Police Describe “Men’s Parties” Location: Used Condoms, Glory Holes, and a Crucifix” »

At tonight’s ANC 2F meeting, 3rd District Lieutenant Vanessa Moore provided some details into the police investigation of Sunday’s sex club death at 1618 14th Street NW. The building has long been known for hosting a late-night sex party called “Men’s Parties” as well as meetings of the “Jack Off Enthusiasts Club.” Last Sunday, a man was reported dead inside the building.

The victim, who was found at the bottom of a stairwell in the building’s basement, was discovered in the early morning hours of Oct. 4. Moore described the victim as a 47-year-old white male. Police now think the man suffered from a “possible broken neck” that may have resulted from a fall down the stairs.

Read More ““Men’s Party” Sex Club Victim May Have Broken Neck” »

Vigil attendees pay their respects to Tyli’a Mack.

On Wednesday, Aug. 26, one person was killed and another critically injured in a daytime stabbing outside 209 Q St. NW. In the hours following the homicide, police and reporters gathered witness testimony, formed a description of the suspect, and chased likely motives. This time, cops and journalists were also forced to devote resources to another developing story: the gender of the victims.

Within three hours of the incident, three local news sources had independently verified the victims’ gender identity with police. They all got it wrong.

Fox 5 news reporter Roby Chavez gave this report at 3:59 p.m., about an hour and a half after the stabbings occurred. “D.C. Police sources tell Fox  5 officers found two transgender male victims in front of the building when they arrived,” Chavez reported.

Read More “Who Botched the Gender Identity of a D.C. Homicide Victim?” »

The Metropolitan Police Department has issued a reward poster in the death of transgender woman Joshua Mack, a.k.a. “Na Na Boo” (pictured). The flier, which you can download here [PDF], doesn’t include any intel on possible suspects. It does, however, promise a $25,000 reward for “anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia.” Information on how to tip the MPD in this case is after the jump.

Read More “$25,000 Reward Offered in Transgender Stabbing Case” »

Pepin Tuma, a 33-year-old gay man, was discussing the recent arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates with a few friends as they walked to Cobalt on July 26. At some point in the pre-bar jaunt, the Washington Blade reports, Tuma loudly condemned the alleged bigotry in the case in a sing-song voice: “I hate the police!” he declared. “I hate the police!”

A D.C. police officer, Tuma says, responded with some hate-speech of his own—and a swift arrest. Second District Officer J. Culp, Tuma says, “charged 40-50 feet” toward him, “pushed him against a transformer box,” arrested him, then told him to “shut up, faggot.”

Read More “Gay Man Arrested For Mocking Police Bigotry” »

D.C. police have launched a new feature for mapping sex offenders in your area. Since 2001, D.C. has provided the names, photographs, and addresses of registered sex offenders living in Washington; now, the sex-offender-monitoring service has upgraded to the Google Maps treatment.

Here’s the sex offender view outside the Washington City Paper offices:

Below the map, the names, photographs, and To Catch a Predator convictions of CP’s seven registered-sex-offender neighbors pop up.  The addresses are only specific to the sex offender’s block. The whole thing seems a little creepy to me, if only because it seems like a total sex offender move to map a radius of targeted individuals around your home or workplace. Click here to do it!

GLOV (Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence) is holding an open community forum on Tuesday, June 2, with D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier.

The deets:

Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Foundry United Methodist Church
5:00 – 6:00 pm Community discussion on public safety and anti-GLBT crime
6:00 – 7:00 pm DC Chief of Police Cathy Lanier joins the discussion

According to the press release, “Chief Lanier is expected to discuss the status of MPD’s efforts to combat crimes in general and hate crimes in particular, as well as discuss her plan to staff the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit of the MPD.”

The GLLU, MPD’s Gay and Lesbian Liason Unit, serves the District’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender communities. Last week in police activity related to the GLBT community—including a juvie assault in a fast food restaurant—below.

TWEETING TOM. Thursday, April 9. 11:30 p.m. “Members of the Second District responded to a complaint of a suspicious person in the 3000 block of M Street, N.W. According to the callers, they observed a black male taking photographs of strangers with his cell phone. The male was located and identified.”

UNHAPPY MEAL. Saturday, April 11. 11:50 p.m. “Members of the Second District responded to the area of the 1600 block of 17th Street, N.W. for the report of an assault. Upon arrival, officers located the adult male victim suffering from minor injuries to his head. According to the victim, he was inside a nearby fast food restaurant, when he became involved in a verbal altercation with an adult female and her small child. At some point, the adult female directed her child to strike the victim with a bottle. The child broke the bottle and struck the victim in the head, causing the injuries. According to the victim, the altercation began when the victim heard the child yelling racist and homophobic slurs and confronted the child. The suspects are described as a black female, heavy set, approximately 50 years old, with red or orange hair and a black male, approximately 7-9 years old, slim and about 5′5″ tall.”

Read More “Gay Crime Log: Fast Food Fight Edition” »

Yeah . . . get out of our fucking city.

It’s feast or famine over at the Gay Crime Log. The Sexist isn’t sure what she did to anger the Gay Crime Gods, but for the past two weeks, her D.C. police crime report e-mails have been barren. Today, her inbox was blessed with a mammoth three weeks of anti-trans hate crimes, costly club hook-ups, and anti-Fred Phelps action.

DOUBLE MOTIVE. “On Sunday, March 15, 2009, at approximately 2 a.m., two adult male victims reported they were robbed at gunpoint by three suspects. During the robbery, one of the suspects referred to one of the victims using a homophobic epithet. The victims received minor injuries. The suspects were described as black males, in their early 20’s. Two of the suspects wore their hair in plaits.”

YOU HAVE TO GO HOME, AND YOU CAN’T STAY HERE. “On Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at approximately 5 p.m., members of the Second District were dispatched to the area of Dupont Circle for a possible assault. Upon arrival, officers located an elderly male at the nearby bus stop. He was disoriented and possibly intoxicated. He was accompanied by another male, who advised he was attempting to get his friend home from the local bar. The two began to argue. The elderly male was transported home.”
Read More “Gay Crime Log: Fuck Fred Phelps Edition” »