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| Life Without Parole for Detroit Man Who Killed 2 Gay Men and a Transgender Woman | |
| (about 16 hours later) | |
| A Detroit man who was convicted of killing two gay men and a transgender woman at a party last year was sentenced on Tuesday to three terms of life in prison without parole. | A Detroit man who was convicted of killing two gay men and a transgender woman at a party last year was sentenced on Tuesday to three terms of life in prison without parole. |
| Prosecutors said the man, Devon Robinson, 19, had received oral sex from multiple people at the party, and feared his family and neighbors would find out. He left the party on May 25, 2019, on Detroit’s East Side, and returned about an hour later, wearing a ski mask and holding a handgun, prosecutors said. | Prosecutors said the man, Devon Robinson, 19, had received oral sex from multiple people at the party, and feared his family and neighbors would find out. He left the party on May 25, 2019, on Detroit’s East Side, and returned about an hour later, wearing a ski mask and holding a handgun, prosecutors said. |
| Mr. Robinson opened fire immediately upon entering the house, killing Alunte Davis, 21, and Timothy Blancher, 20, who were gay, and Paris Cameron, 20, a transgender woman, the authorities said. Two other people were wounded. | Mr. Robinson opened fire immediately upon entering the house, killing Alunte Davis, 21, and Timothy Blancher, 20, who were gay, and Paris Cameron, 20, a transgender woman, the authorities said. Two other people were wounded. |
| Mr. Robinson was arrested last June and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder and five counts of the use of a firearm in connection with a felony. | Mr. Robinson was arrested last June and charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder and five counts of the use of a firearm in connection with a felony. |
| At his trial, a prosecutor, Jaimie Powell Horowitz, said Mr. Robinson had met the victims at a gas station, where Ms. Cameron flirted with him. He was then seen on video footage pacing back and forth as he debated whether to attend the party with the victims, Ms. Horowitz said. | At his trial, a prosecutor, Jaimie Powell Horowitz, said Mr. Robinson had met the victims at a gas station, where Ms. Cameron flirted with him. He was then seen on video footage pacing back and forth as he debated whether to attend the party with the victims, Ms. Horowitz said. |
| After he received oral sex at the party, people there laughed at him and said that Mr. Robinson was gay, Ms. Horowitz said. | After he received oral sex at the party, people there laughed at him and said that Mr. Robinson was gay, Ms. Horowitz said. |
| He left the party, she said, and was seen on video footage spitting and dry heaving before returning to the house with a gun. | He left the party, she said, and was seen on video footage spitting and dry heaving before returning to the house with a gun. |
| She said Mr. Robinson was determined to “kill everyone there because if everyone’s not dead, somebody can talk about what happened.” | She said Mr. Robinson was determined to “kill everyone there because if everyone’s not dead, somebody can talk about what happened.” |
| “This is a case about hate,” Ms. Horowitz said in her closing arguments. “This is a case about self-hate.” | “This is a case about hate,” Ms. Horowitz said in her closing arguments. “This is a case about self-hate.” |
| Mr. Robinson’s lawyer, Evan Callanan, said his client planned to appeal. He said he had argued during the trial that there was no way to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a figure who had been captured on two different video cameras leaving the party and entering Mr. Robinson’s house was, in fact, Mr. Robinson. | |
| “You don’t see his face; you can’t see who it is,” Mr. Callanan said. “I had high hopes that the jury would have reached a different verdict but, unfortunately, they’ve spoken. We plan to appeal and we will see what comes of it.” | “You don’t see his face; you can’t see who it is,” Mr. Callanan said. “I had high hopes that the jury would have reached a different verdict but, unfortunately, they’ve spoken. We plan to appeal and we will see what comes of it.” |
| Mr. Robinson was sentenced on Tuesday to three life terms without parole for first-degree murder, 10 to 20 years for each count of assault with intent to murder, and two years consecutively for felony firearm, prosecutors said. | Mr. Robinson was sentenced on Tuesday to three life terms without parole for first-degree murder, 10 to 20 years for each count of assault with intent to murder, and two years consecutively for felony firearm, prosecutors said. |
| “We are pleased that justice has been served in this case,” Kym L. Worthy, the Wayne County prosecutor, said in a statement. “The defendant’s actions were disturbing on so many levels, but the fact that this happened during Pride Month adds salt into the wound. We will continue to be vigilant in our fight to eradicate hate in Wayne County and beyond.” | “We are pleased that justice has been served in this case,” Kym L. Worthy, the Wayne County prosecutor, said in a statement. “The defendant’s actions were disturbing on so many levels, but the fact that this happened during Pride Month adds salt into the wound. We will continue to be vigilant in our fight to eradicate hate in Wayne County and beyond.” |
| Mr. Robinson was prosecuted with the help of the Fair Michigan Justice Project, a nonprofit program that helps law enforcement officials investigate and prosecute serious crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. | Mr. Robinson was prosecuted with the help of the Fair Michigan Justice Project, a nonprofit program that helps law enforcement officials investigate and prosecute serious crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. |
| “Devon Robinson murdered three members of Detroit’s L.G.B.T.Q. community in cold blood, and wounded two others,” Fair Michigan’s president, Alanna Maguire, said. “This conviction and life-in-prison sentence sends a clear message that crimes against our community can result in maximum penalties under the law.” | “Devon Robinson murdered three members of Detroit’s L.G.B.T.Q. community in cold blood, and wounded two others,” Fair Michigan’s president, Alanna Maguire, said. “This conviction and life-in-prison sentence sends a clear message that crimes against our community can result in maximum penalties under the law.” |
| The victims were part of what the Human Rights Campaign has called an “epidemic of violence” against L.G.B.T.Q. people and transgender women of color, in particular, in the United States. | The victims were part of what the Human Rights Campaign has called an “epidemic of violence” against L.G.B.T.Q. people and transgender women of color, in particular, in the United States. |
| At the time when the murders occurred last year, at least 27 transgender and gender-nonconforming people had been killed in 2019, the Human Rights Campaign said. A vast majority of the victims were Black transgender women like Ms. Cameron, according to the group. | |
| This year, the Human Rights Campaign said it had tracked at least 19 deaths of transgender and gender-nonconforming people. | |
| “While it is heartening that the killer of Alunte Davis, Paris Cameron and Timothy Blancher is being rightfully punished for his heinous crimes — targeting and killing people simply for being L.G.B.T.Q. — the larger epidemic of hate violence that targets people of color and L.G.B.T.Q. people is an urgent crisis,” said Elliott Kozuch, a press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. “Every single one of these victims deserves justice as well.” | “While it is heartening that the killer of Alunte Davis, Paris Cameron and Timothy Blancher is being rightfully punished for his heinous crimes — targeting and killing people simply for being L.G.B.T.Q. — the larger epidemic of hate violence that targets people of color and L.G.B.T.Q. people is an urgent crisis,” said Elliott Kozuch, a press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. “Every single one of these victims deserves justice as well.” |