ATLANTA (WUPA) – Atlanta police say they have arrested a 17-year-old in connection with the Shooting death of Rasheeda Williams, 35 in southwest Atlanta last week.
According to a police statement, homicide detectives were able to obtain warrants for murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony against 17-year-old Jermarcus Jernigan.
“On April 26, 2023, Mr. Jernigan turned himself in at the Zona 1 police station,” the police statement said.
The statement went on to say that Jernigan was transported to the Fulton County Jail and taken into their custody without incident.
Williams, who goes by the name Koko Da Doll, was found in the 2400 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW near Hamilton E. Holmes Drive on Tuesday, April 18, police said. She was initially found by Atlanta police officers in response to a report of a person being shot at that location.
Williams and other trans women were chronicled in the Sundance Film Festival documentary “Kokomo City.” The film’s director, D. Smith, praised Williams on Instagram last week.
“On Tuesday night, Rasheeda Williams was shot and killed in Atlanta. Rasheeda, also known as Koko Da Doll, was the latest victim of violence against Black transgender women.” Smith said on Instagram. “I created Kokomo City because I wanted to show the fun, humanized and natural side of Black trans women. I wanted to create images that didn’t show the trauma or murder statistics of transgender lives.”
According to the APD, including Williams, the department has been actively investigating three violent crimes involving transgender women in Atlanta since early 2023, two of them since early April.
Anyone with information on any of the active cases is asked to contact Crime Stoppers Atlanta online at StopCrimeAtl.org or by phone at 404-577-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers tipsters do not have to give their name or any other identifying information to be eligible to receive a reward of up to $2,000 for the arrest or indictment of the suspect(s) in the case.
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or login
for more features.