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LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Friday, April 22, 2005
The man charged in the March 16 slaying of Wanda Alston, director of Mayor Anthony Williams’ gay affairs office, was scheduled to plead guilty to a charge of second-degree murder while armed in a plea bargain agreement that was to be filed Thursday, April 21, before a D.C. Superior Court judge.
Sgt. Brett Parson, commander of the D.C. police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, said the Office of the United States Attorney informed Alston’s family members, including her domestic partner, of the plea arrangement Monday after consulting them about the issue previously.
Under the city’s criminal statute, defendant William M. Parrott, Jr., 38, who is charged with Alston’s murder, could receive a maximum sentence of up to 40 years in prison for the charge of second-degree murder while armed.
However, under sentencing guidelines that most Superior Court judges follow, Parrott is eligible for a sentence of between 12 and 28 years in prison because he has no prior criminal record. In rare cases, judges have exercised their authority to ignore the guidelines and have issued sentences up to the statutory limit.
Police initially charged Parrot with first-degree murder while armed one day after Alston was found stabbed to death in her house in Northeast D.C. A first-degree murder conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. Police said Parrott, who lived two doors away from Alston, was a crack cocaine user and his motive for the killing was to steal Alston’s money or possessions so he could buy more drugs.
He was apprehended about a mile from Alston’s house after witnesses told police they saw him driving Alston’s car, which was reported stolen at the time of the murder. Police said he was in possession of Alston’s house and car keys and at least two of her credit cards at the time of his arrest.
Parson said police and officials with the U.S. attorney’s office believe the plea bargain arrangement for second-degree murder would bring about the best possible outcome in the case. Parson said the U.S. attorney’s office believes it would have been difficult to obtain a first-degree murder conviction because prosecutors would have had to prove premeditation.
Parrot’s history of drug use and his statement to police that he was high on crack at the time of the murder could have prompted a jury to acquit him on a first-degree murder charge, Parson said. His guilty plea spares the government the expense of a trial and spares Alston’s family members from the stress of a lengthy murder trial, Parson said.
Alston’s domestic partner, Stacy Long, who found Alston’s body lying near the door to Alston’s home, would likely have been called as a government witness in a trial.
Channing Phillips, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said he could not comment on the Alston case until the plea arrangement was filed in court. But he said that in similar cases, it is often better to accept a plea agreement that ensures a conviction.
“A trial always brings uncertainty,” Phillips said. “You think you have a strong case, but you never know what a jury is going to do.”
Similar to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Mayor Anthony Williams could not comment on the expected plea agreement until it was filed in court, according to his press secretary, Vince Morris.
“The mayor is extremely gratified that the police were able to arrest and charge someone so quickly,” Morris said.
Charlene Cheatam, a longtime lesbian activist who worked with Alston on gay rights projects, said she would defer to the judgment of experts like Parson and the United States Attorney’s office on whether the plea bargain was the appropriate action to take.
“They know how these things work,” Cheatam said. “It’s horrible what he did, but you can’t bring Wanda back,” said Cheatam, who added that she hopes Parrot receives the strongest possible sentence.
Brad Lewis, former president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and a Ward 8 political activist, characterized as “absurd” the possibility that Parrot would receive a sentence of only 12 years in jail.
“It makes a mockery of the system. I think 12 years is totally unacceptable,” Lewis said. “I feel he should be in jail for life.”
Gay activist Phil Pannell, who Mayor Williams appointed to replace Alston as chief organizer of an April 30 mayoral summit on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues, said he is agonizing over Alston’s loss and the question of which punishment would be appropriate for the man who took her life.
“Is this normally what happens when people brutally murder someone when they are high on drugs?” Pannell asked. “I hope the defendant gets the help he needs but I also hope he gets the maximum sentence of 40 years,” Pannell said.
Long, Alston’s partner, did not return a call seeking comment by press time.
The plea bargain agreement with Parrot was expected to be filed before Judge Judith Retchin at an April 21 hearing in Superior Court, after the Blade’s deadline.
Under standard procedures for such hearings, Retchin was expected to order a pre-sentencing study and report and schedule a sentencing hearing at a later date.
Friends and family members of Alston were expected to attend the hearing. Hearings where defendants plead guilty to serious crimes like murder usually involve testimony by law enforcement officials describing the nature of the crime as well as testimony by the defendant confirming that he or she willingly chose to enter a guilty plea and forfeit their right to a trial.
Police said Parrot and Alston knew each other as neighbors and that Alston apparently opened her door on the day of the murder after Parrot came to her house. In a videotaped confession, described in a police affidavit, Parrot said he had ingested crack cocaine on the day of the murder and brought with him a knife from his kitchen when he entered Alston’s house. The D.C. medical examiner’s office reported that Alston had been stabbed at least eight times in the chest, neck and back, as well as multiple times in her arms and hands as she tried to defend herself.
The police affidavit says Parrot stated in his confession that he used two of Alston’s credit cards to sell gas to citizens at several gas stations in D.C. and Maryland. He used the cash he obtained from the sales proceeds to “buy more crack cocaine,” the affidavit states.
Parrot was ordered held without bond at the time of his arrest.
Alston served as director of the mayor’s Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Affairs, a position that had cabinet level status.
Lou Chibbaro Jr. can be reached at lchibbaro@washblade.com.
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