Man Charged With Killing Two Gay Men, Trans Woman in Detroit

A Detroit man has been charged with murder in the deaths of two gay men and a transgender woman, in a crime reportedly motivated by their identity.

Devon Robinson, 19, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, prosecutors said Thursday, according to the Detroit Free Press. He was arrested Wednesday. The victims, Alunte Davis, 21, Paris Cameron, 20, and Timothy Blancher, 20, all of Detroit, were shot to death May 25 in a home on the city's east side. Davis and Blancher were gay men, and Cameron was a trans woman. She is one of nine trans women murdered in the U.S. so far this year, all African-American.

Two other people were shot but survived. Robinson is also charged with two counts of assault with intent to murder and five counts of the use of a firearm in connection with a felony, the Free Press reports.

"The allegation is that ... the homicide victims were targeted and killed because they were part of the LGBTQ community," Maria Miller, a spokeswoman Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, told the paper.

Worthy added, "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. We must remain ever vigilant in our fight to eradicate hate in Wayne County and beyond."

The case was handled by the Fair Michigan Justice Project, a collaboration between the nonprofit organization Fair Michigan and the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office to help solve and prosecute major crimes against LGBTQ people.

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