Memorial set for Charlene Arcila
The community is invited to remember transgender pioneer Charlene Arcila at a memorial this weekend.
Arcila’s life will be celebrated from 12:30-3 p.m. May 16 at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St.
Arcila, the founder of the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference, died last month. She worked at a local HIV/AIDS organization for years, sat on many local boards and filed a discrimination complaint that ultimately led to SEPTA removing its gender markers on transpasses.
Light refreshments will be served at the service, and free-will offerings for her loved ones will be accepted.
— Jen Colletta
Another delay in Kim Jones case
Last week a second pre-trial conference was held for Randolph Sanders, the man accused of shooting his lesbian coworker this past winter.
At the May 6 proceeding, the defense once again requested additional time to further investigate the evidence against Sanders.
At the last pre-trial conference April 1, Judge Benjamin Lerner granted the defense an additional six weeks. However, at this hearing, Lerner gave defense attorney Michael Coard just three.
Sanders is charged with murder and weapons charges in the Jan. 13 shooting of Kim Jones at 12th and Jefferson streets in North Philadelphia. Jones, 56, was waiting for a SEPTA bus to her job at Turning Points for Children; Sanders was a coworker there and investigators say he killed Jones because she suspected him of stealing from the organization.
The next conference date is set for May 28 in Room 1105 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert St.
— Ryan Kasley
Morris court proceeding set
This week, Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Nina Wright Padilla was scheduled to consider PGN’s open-records request for complete dispatch records in the Nizah Morris case.
The hearing was scheduled for 10 a.m. May 14 in Room 426 of City Hall.
Morris was a transgender woman found with a fatal head injury in 2002, shortly after a “courtesy ride” from Philadelphia police.
PGN seeks complete dispatch records for a vehicle stop initiated by Officer Elizabeth Skala while she was assigned to handle Morris, who was inebriated.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has indicated it doesn’t have responsive records.
Advocates for Morris wants a state probe of her homicide, claiming local authorities appear to be engaged in a cover-up.
Request for deadline waiver in rape case
Jeffrey J. Marsalis, who sexually assaulted two women in Philadelphia before going to Idaho and raping a lesbian, seeks a deadline waiver before filing a legal brief in his quest for a new trial.
Marsalis claims his trial attorney served him ineffectively in 2007, and he wants Pennsylvania Superior Court to order a new trial.
Marsalis was supposed to file an appellate brief by May 1. But last week, he requested a deadline waiver on the basis that local authorities haven’t produced relevant records needed to compose the brief.
The court hadn’t ruled on Marsalis’ request as of presstime.
Marsalis, 42, allegedly sedated his victims with a date-rape drug prior to sexually assaulting them. He denies the allegations, according to court papers.
Marsalis remains incarcerated at a state prison in Marienville. He couldn’t be reached for comment.
His scheduled release date is Jan. 17, 2017. Then, he must begin serving a 14-year prison sentence in Idaho for raping a lesbian in that state, according to court records.
— Timothy Cwiek