Chae’Meshia Simms ("ChaeChae")
Age 3023 Nov 2020
Richmond, Virginia (USA)
Shot
TDoR list ref: tgeu/23-Nov-2020/Chae’Meshia Simms 'ChaeChae'
Chae’Meshia was found by police in a crashed vehicle. She had a gunshot wound and died at the scene.
Almost a month later, Ryejon Lee was arrested and charged with robbery and use of a firearm according to authorities.
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Police say the victim in a homicide that occurred in Richmond has been identified.
Officers were called to the 800 block of Cheatwood Avenue around 5:42 a.m. on Nov. 23 for the report of a vehicle colliding into a detached garage in an alley.
After arriving on the scene, police found Chae’Meshia Simms in a 2019 Chevrolet Impala.
Police say Simms had suffered from a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene. Neighbors also reported hearing gunshots in the area.
The Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of death. Police are asking residents in the area to check their surveillance video between 5-6:15 a.m. that day. Police said a man left the area on foot after the shooting. Anyone with information should contact Major Crimes Detective M. Godwin at (804) 646-5533 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.
Update: Dec. 11, 2020:
RICHMOND, Va. -- A man has been arrested and charged in connection to the murder of a transgender woman on Richmond's Northside last month.
Ryejon Lee was arrested Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force on outstanding warrants for robbery and use of a firearm in commission of a felony in connection to the murder of Chae’Meshia Simms on November 23.
Police say additional charges are pending against Lee.
Emergency crews responded to a call for a car that crashed in an alleyway off Cheatwood Avenue in the Washington Park neighborhood just before 6 a.m., according to detectives.
Simms, a transgender woman in her 30s, was found in the driver’s seat.
“She had suffered an apparent gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene,” a police spokesperson said.
The victim's sister said Simms was found shot to death inside her mom’s rental car. She was driving home, according to her family.
There is no word on a motive in the shooting.
Chae’Meshia is just one of far too many black trans victims of gun violence in the USA. She will be sorely missed.
“We are mourning Chae’Meshia along with her friends and family. Although I did not know Chae’Meshia personally, she was from my hometown, and her death impacts the trans and gender non-conforming community everywhere,” said HRC Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative Tori Cooper. “We are continuing to see a devastating rate of violence against trans and gender non-conforming people in the United States, especially against Black and Brown trans women, and it must be stopped. It takes all of us to speak up and take action to end this violence.”
Simms, who sometimes used the nickname “ChaeChae,” was close with her family and friends, and often posted photos of and with them on Facebook. Her loved ones are remembering her on social media as “good,” “kind” and “caring.” One friend remembered her as “one of my biggest supporters.” Many have expressed how much they will miss her.
Her Facebook profile is https://www.facebook.com/chaechae.simms.9.
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2020/11/29/black-transgender-woman-murdered-in-richmond/
https://planettransgender.com/transgender-woman-murdered-in-richmond/
https://www.hrc.org/news/hrc-mourns-chaemeshia-simms-black-trans-woman-killed-in-richmond-va
https://www.nbc12.com/2020/11/23/victim-identified-richmond-homicide-police-say/
https://gunmemorial.org/2020/11/23/chaemeshia-simms
