Baltimore man charged with murdering transgender woman in Prince George’s County

Police have charged a Baltimore man with the shooting death of a transgender woman in Prince George’s County last month.

Prince George’s County police wrote in a news release Thursday that Gerardo Thomas, 33, of the 1900 block of W. Lexington St., has been charged with first- and second-degree murder in the shooting death of Zoe Spears last month. He also faces assault and weapons offenses.

Spears was found unresponsive in Fairmount Heights near midnight June 13 after being shot. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

She was the second transgender woman of color to be killed in the Prince George’s County town this year. Ashanti Cannon, a 26-year-old transgender woman, was found shot to death in March not far from where Spears was killed.

Thomas has no attorney listed in court records. He is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on the charges Aug. 19 in Upper Marlboro.