Teen arrested in shooting death of trans woman Rasheeda Williams – Koko Da Doll

ATLANTA (WUPA) — Atlanta Police said they have arrested a 17-year-old in connection with the shooting death of 35-year-old Rasheeda Williams in southwest Atlanta last week.

According to a police statement, homicide detectives were able to secure arrest 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 Zone 1 Precinct,” the police statement said. 

The statement went on to say that Jernigan was transported to the Fulton County Jail and placed into their custody without incident.

Williams, who performs under 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 responding to a report of a person shot at that location. 

Williams and other trans women were chronicled in Sundance Film Festival documentary “Kokomo City.”  The film’s director, D. Smith eulogized Williams on Instagram last week. 

“On Tuesday night, Rasheeda Williams was shot and killed in Atlanta. Rasheeda, aka 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, natural side of Black trans women. I wanted to create images that didn’t show the trauma or the statistics of murder of Transgender lives.”

According to the APD, including Williams, the department has been actively investigating three violent crimes involving transgender women in Atlanta since the start of 2023 — two of them since the start of April.

Anyone with information on any of the active cases is asked to contact Crime Stoppers Atlanta online at www.StopCrimeAtl.org or via telephone at 404-577-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers tipsters do not have to give their name or any other identifying information in order to be eligible to receive a reward of up to $2,000 for the arrest or indictment of the suspect or suspects in the case.