for BigTrial.net
As a member of the District Attorney's Immediate Response Team, DeVonte' Douglass routinely goes out to crime scenes, hospitals, and the medical examiner's office when there's been a homicide, to aid victims' families.
Shortly before 10 a.m. yesterday, Douglass had an up close and personal experience involving a homicide in a case where Douglass was identified by police as the shooter. And according to Douglass's version of the story, he was also a crime victim.
Shortly before 10 a.m. yesterday, at 31st and Lehigh Streets, adjacent to the Mount Peace Cemetery, at a time when most employees at the D.A.'s office are expected to be at work, Douglass wound up shooting and killing Vernon Harris, whom he had met on Instagram, and agreed to a sexual hook-up for money.
According to police sources, the two men met at 27th and Cambria, where Douglass, 28, of the 2900 block of North Bambrey St., got into a car driven by Harris, 31, of the 1800 block of Harrison Street, and then they drove to the cemetery. After their encounter, which took place in the back seat of the vehicle, with the windows open, Douglass told police, Harris stood outside the vehicle and pointed a gun at Douglass, and demanded all his money.
When Harris placed his gun inside his waistband, Douglass told police he thought that Harris was going to shoot him, so he pulled out his gun and shot Harris twice in the chest, killing him. Then he ran across Lehigh Avenue, pleading for someone to call police.
Police recovered a 9 mm gun registered to Douglass.
Douglass, who was wearing his DA's ID badge around his neck, was transported to the homicide unit. The case was subsequently referred to the state attorney general's office, a spokesperson for the AG said, but to date, no arrest has been made.
Police also confiscated a .357 magnum from Harris's waistband, a gun that he did not have a permit to carry.
District Attorney Larry Krasner did not respond to a request for comment on whether Douglass was arrested, or subject to any disciplinary action as a result of his behavior.
Krasner and his alleged spokesperson, Jane Roh, also did not respond to a question about whether Douglass was on duty when he was having his tryst with Harris that ended in a homicide.
Douglass is a peer crisis responder who assists victims of gun violence as a member of the D.A.'s CARES program, which stands for Crisis Assistance, Response, and Engagement for Survivors. The D.A.'s office recently highlighted Douglass's role in the office.
“A lot of time when [families] are facing trauma and feeling rage, they are upset that a person was taken from them, and we can’t be with them every step of the way like we used to before the epidemic," Douglass was quoted as saying.
"I take it personally that we can’t do all we want right now, but I’m constantly following up with the clients. Are they are taking care, eating, and not sitting in a dark room locked away? We explain why we can’t be on site, but regardless of that, I don’t care what time it is, they can still reach me on my cell."
“They are going through trauma, but I’m there for them and understand their pain," Douglass was quoted as saying. "I’ll listen to their pain, no matter if it is a five minute or three-hour conversation.”
When the D.A. was spotlighting Douglass, he also talked about his background.
“I’m a criminal justice major and criminal justice has been this big thing for me," Douglass said. "I want to help people and CARES allows me to help people from the victim side. This is personal for me, when you see homicides taking place in our city, and I want to do my part to help people who are hurt by gun violence."
"I had a friend who was killed, and this is my way to respond, to talk to families, and to make sure they understand the process and to help them through it from investigation to court,” Douglass was quoted as saying.
Douglass is not the first member of the D.A.'s office under Larry Krasner to be involved in a crime during office hours.
On May 11th, Assistant District Attorney Dana Lynn Bazelon, a top aide and policy advisor to Krasner, was arrested for allegedly leaving her four-year-old daughter unattended in a parked car. That case was also referred to the state attorney general's office for prosecution.