Devon Robinson.
Devon Robinson of Detroit was charged last Thursday with three counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of 21-year-old Alunte Davis, 20-year-old Timothy Blancher and 20-year-old Paris Cameron. Davis and Blancher were gay and Paris was a trans woman. Police believe their sexual orientation and gender identity were factors in their murders. They were all shot and killed while together at a home on Detroit's east side May 25. Two others were shot but survived.
"The alleged actions of this defendant are disturbing on so many levels, but the fact that this happened during Pride Month adds salt into the wound," said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. "We must remain ever vigilant in our fight to eradicate hate in Wayne County and beyond."
Special Prosecutor Jaimie Powell Horowitz of the Fair Michigan Justice Project handled the case.
"This case illustrates the mortal danger faced by members of Detroit's LGBTQ community, including transgender women of color," said Alanna Maguire, Fair Michigan's president. "The LGBTQ community knows that the Fair Michigan Justice Project, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and the Detroit Police Department stand ready to aggressively prosecute these brutal crimes."
Robinson, just 18 himself, was charged with two counts of assault with intent to murder and five counts of use of a firearm in connection with a felony in addition to the murders. He was arraigned Friday. A probable cause conference is scheduled for June 21 and a preliminary examination will take place June 28.
Meanwhile, funerals for all three victims took place over the weekend and on Monday. Jey'nce Poindexter Mizrahi, Equality Michigan's transgender victims advocate, knew all three of the victims. She said she considered Davis to be her grandchild.
"He had a lot of personality," she said. "He was really funny, really easygoing.
"They all were definitely well received in the community," Poindexter Mizrahi continued. "Alunte was really supportive of Paris and her transition. Whenever you saw one of them you saw the other. Literally. They were very close. I met Tim sometime last year. He was really funny and charismatic. He loved to talk stuff, you know, shoot the dozens."
Poindexter Mizrahi said the metro Detroit community has suffered a season of great loss in recent weeks.
"It's not the middle-aged people," she said. "It's not the elders. It's the young people. Before life really started for any of them it was taken away. It was discarded so frivolously."
