pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 40 No. 52 Dec. 23-29, 2016
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Season’s greetings from the staff of Philadelphia Gay News!
Pleas possible in murder of trans woman By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com The District Attorney’s Office earlier this month offered plea agreements to two people charged with the murder of a local transgender woman. Details about the plea agreements extended to Tiffany Floyd and Jose Pena were not available as of presstime. The two are charged with the February murder of Maya Young. According to court dockets, Floyd is listed to enter a possible guilty plea while Pena’s defense provided a counter-offer to the D.A.’s proposal. Pena’s docket stated, “The Commonwealth is considering the defense counter offer” but he is also listed for a possible guilty plea or trial scheduling. Cameron Kline, spokesperson for the D.A.’s Office, declined to comment about the plea deals due to the case being active. Floyd’s and Pena’s attorneys did not respond to requests for comment. Hearings for Pena and Floyd will be held in courtroom 1105 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert St., at 9 a.m. Jan. 26 and Feb. 9, respectively. On Feb. 20, police responded to a “stabbing on the highway” near 4900 Griscom St. in Frankford and found Young suffering from stab wounds to the neck and chest. Officials pronounced her dead at 12:21 a.m. Feb. 21 at Aria Health Frankford. Police arrested Floyd and Pena later that month. On June 7, they appeared in court separately to hear evidence against them. According to Pena’s statement, Floyd told him of an ongoing fight between her and Young over a man and that Floyd asked for his help in killing Young. He said both defendants met Young at a park in Frankford where Floyd and Young smoked crack. Pena said Floyd stabbed Young and after the victim fled, Floyd asked Pena to “finish” Young or she would have him killed. “It was my life or hers,” Pena said in the statement. Meanwhile, Floyd contended she did not plan to kill Young and that Pena followed the victim on his own after the initial stabbing. Floyd is currently in custody at Riverside Correctional Facility while Pena is in CurranFromhold Correctional Facility. n
Top 16 of ’16 By PGN Staff When the ball drops later this month, many of us will not be sorry to bid adieu to 2016. It’s been a tough year for the nation, with our recent presidential election, ongoing racial tensions and social-justice clashes and the country’s deadliest mass shooting. However, there were definitely some bright spots of 2016, including for Philly’s LGBT community. Take a look back at what we consider to be top-16 newsmakers of 2016. 1. Mass shooting rocks LGBT community The nation saw its deadliest mass shooting this summer at an LGBT nightclub. Omar Mateen killed 49 people at Pulse in Orlando, Fla., on June 12. Mateen’s motivation for the slaying was never determined, but the gunman pledged allegiance to ISIS during the incident,
which left dozens wounded. Among the victims was 18-year-old Akyra Murray of Philadelphia. Murray was in Orlando vacationing with her family and celebrating her graduation from
SPREADING HOLIDAY CHEER: Summer Clearance (left) and Thunder Showers were among the Bingo Verifying Divas who organized toy donations at AIDS Fund’s Jingle Bell Rock GayBINGO! Saturday at Gershman Y. More than 1,000 toys were collected through the event and at other donation sites, making this year the organization’s most successful toy drive ever. The donations will be delivered to local children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Photo: Scott A. Drake
West Philadelphia High School the week before. She, her cousin and a friend were among 15 people trapped in a bathroom stall as the shooter fired. Murray was the youngest of the 49 victims. Word of the massacre began spreading at Philadelphia Pride later that day, with organizers calling for a moment of silence before the annual parade stepped off, and a noticeably increased police presence. The next day, more than 2,000 people assembled at Philadelphia City Hall to mourn the victims and call for LGBT tolerance. Several LGBT venues in the Gayborhood instituted enhanced security procedures after the attack and a coalition of local bar owners and others collaborated on a large-scale fundraiser for the victims in July. The event ended up netting more than $100,000. 2. Donald Trump elected president Political newcomer Trump stunned the nation by winning the 2016 presidential election. The LGBT community largely turned out against the Republican candidate, who opposes marriage equality and LGBT nondiscrimination measures and has pledged to sign a federal “religious-freedom” law that opponents say would give businesses license to discriminate against LGBT people. LGBT organizations like Equality Pennsylvania, Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club and Liberty Pennsylvania staged intense get-out-thevote efforts for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the weeks leading up to the election. Clinton ended up capturing 82.4 percent of the vote in Philadelphia, and 84.24 percent in the ward that includes the Gayborhood. However, Trump ended up winning Pennsylvania, a state that was decisive in helping him reach the winning Electoral College threshold; Clinton won the popPAGE 12 ular vote by more than