Chris Farris and Todd Metrokin, co-chairs of local activist group Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV), are questioning U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor’s handling of the Tony Hunter case. In September, Hunter died from injuries he sustained in an altercation outside Shaw gay bar BeBar; Last month, Robert Hannah was arrested in relation to Hunter’s death and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the case.

In a letter addressed to Taylor, Farris and Metrokin criticized the attorney’s office’s assertion that “Mr. Hunter’s death stemmed from an ‘altercation’ with the defendant that the victim sexually assaulted the defendant prior to the defendant’s attacking him.” The GLOV representatives called the allegation “absurd,” unsupported and against “common sense.”

“[G]ay men do not approach random men on street corners and grab their crotches—to believe this version of events, based solely on the self-serving words of someone facing murder charges, is to succumb to homophobic bias,” the letter reads.

GLOV’s full letter is after the jump.

Read More “Gay Rights Activists Question U.S. Attorney on Tony Hunter Case” »

This morning, a preliminary hearing was held in the case of U.S. vs. Hannah. In the 9:30 a.m. hearing in front of Judge Frederick H. Weisberg, Assistant U.S. Attorney Fernando Campoamor argued that Robert “Rob” Hannah be prosecuted for “voluntary manslaughter” in relation to the death of Tony Hunter. After hearing arguments from Campoamor and Hannah’s attorney, Madalyn R. Harvey, as well as testimony from D.C. police department detective Jacqueline S. Middleton, Weisberg ruled that there was probable cause for only involuntary manslaughter in the case.

“This is a very difficult case and a very tragic one,” said Weisberg. “It’s almost like a law school exam on the elements of homicide.” Much of the nearly two-and-a-half hour hearing consisted of the judge and the U.S. attorney arguing the finer points of 2nd degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter. Detective Middleton was the only witness questioned in the proceedings, but she spoke for four other witnesses, referred to as W-1 to W-4, whom she and lead detective Jed Worrell had interviewed over the course of their investigation. Hannah watched the proceedings in an orange prison jumpsuit and blue skeakers, his wrists handcuffed in front of him.

The difference between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter in the case is a fine one. Under voluntary manslaughter, the offender acts in “the heat of passion” and in response to a “reasonable provocation,” but does intend to kill or cause serious physical harm to the victim. In involuntary manslaughter, the offender does not intend to kill, but acts with reckless disregard for the victim’s safety. Both differ from second degree murder in that there are “mitigating circumstances” involved in the case.
Read More “Hannah Case Downgraded to “Involuntary Manslaughter”” »

On the books, it’s “Voluntary Manslaughter.” To activists, it’s a “Hate Crime.”

D.C. didn’t know much about Tony Randolph Hunter when police found his body, “lying supine on the ground” with a “laceration on the back of his head,” near Shaw’s BeBar on the night of Sept. 7. When police initially classified the 37-year-old Maryland man’s beating as a potential hate crime, they did so based on the few details they could ascertain about the victim: who he was and where he was going. The assailants, police reasoned, may have been acting on the same basic information—that Hunter was gay and headed to a gay bar—in an attack that had no immediately apparent motive.

In police reports, descriptions of suspects similarly lack specifics. In the case of Tony Hunter, the report identified the suspects as four black males between the ages of 19 and 22, dressed in blue jeans and T-shirts. Other recent attacks against gays produce similar descriptors. In the July 13 beating of Todd Metrokin, the assailants were described as black men between the ages of 17 and 21. In a Sept. 27 incident in Dupont, a gay couple dodged the word “faggot”—and a heaved brick—from a black man they later identified as a security guard at the Metropole.

Read More “The Death of Tony Hunter” »

18-year-old Robert Hannah was arrested yesterday in relation to the death of Tony Randolph Hunter. Last week, D.C. police secured an arrest warrant charging Hannah with Voluntary Manslaughter in Hunter’s death. The case is still not classified as a hate crime, police say. According to a press release:

Of particular interest to members of the GLBT community, Chief Lanier stated the case was thoroughly reviewed by prosecutors at the United States Attorney’s Office and there is no evidence to support a hate crime enhancement. Furthermore, Chief Lanier indicated the initial suspected motive of robbery was eventually determined by investigators to not be correct and that the death of Mr. Hunter resulted from an altercation between Mr. Hunter and Mr. Hanna, during which Mr. Hunter suffered injuries which lead to his death.

Mr. Hanna will be presented in the District of Columbia Superior Court, at which time a judge will determine if he will be released or jailed pending the judicial process.

Note: I’ve seen different spellings of the suspect’s name, re: Hanna/Hannah, from MPD documents. Will update when I get word from MPD.

Full statement after the jump.

Read More “Tony Hunter Suspect Robert Hannah Arrested” »

It’s been over a month since Tony Randolph Hunter, a gay man, was assaulted near BeBar on the evening of Sept. 7. After a stay in the hospital, Hunter was pronounced dead on Sept. 17. A day after Hunter’s death, police announced that the crime was not being classified as a “hate crime.”

Now, D.C. police have secured a warrant for the arrest of a Robert Hannah (pictured) in connection with Hunter’s death. About an hour ago, MPD sent out an “urgent bulletin” announcing that Hannah, who is known as “Rob,” is wanted for “Voluntary Manslaughter in connection with the beating death of Tony Hunter.” Hannah is described as “a 18-year-old black male (DOB: 8/11/1990), 5′7″ in height, and 148 lbs.” Police released this “Wanted” flier, which citizens are directed to distribute. Download the flier here [PDF].

Those with information about the case are directed to contact Detective Jed Worrell at (202) 645-9618 or 202 486-1596 (cell); Detective Jackie Middleton at (202) 645-5501 or 202 497-4606 (cell); or the MPD Command Information Center at (202) 727-9099. Anonymous tips can be called in to 1-888-919-CRIME, or texted to 50411.