Charge Against Sahle Dropped
A D.C. Superior Court judge last week disposed a case against one of two women accused in the June beating a local drag performer in a take-out restaurant following the accused woman’s completion court-ordered community service.
Rachel Manna Sahle, of Gaithersburg, Md., was charged with one count of simple assault stemming from an attack against drag performer Heidi Glüm, aka Miles DeNiro, in a Manny & Olga’s restaurant on 14th and T Streets NW. Video of the attack, which showed Sahle and Raymone Harding, also of Gaithersburg, hitting DeNiro and dragging him by his hair, was posted to the site WorldStarHipHop.com.
After appearing in court in September, Sahle was offered and accepted a deferred-sentencing agreement, referred to as a ”diversion,” in which she agreed to avoid contact with DeNiro and complete a community-service requirement, in exchange for having the charge dropped.
On March 19, Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna determined that Sahle had complied with the terms of her release and had completed her community service. According to court records, Sahle volunteered 37 hours at a New York Avenue shelter during the months of September, October and December.
Harding, who was tried separately from Sahle, is due in court April 1 for a diversion hearing. However, unlike Sahle, Harding was given a particular community service assignment. According to court records, she has not completed any community service. The last notation on her record was added in October when a judicial summons was returned as ”undeliverable,” with no forwarding address.
If Harding does not show up for her April 1 hearing, McKenna could order a bench warrant for her arrest, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia could decide whether it wants to move forward on a charge of simple assault. The U.S. Attorney’s Office previously advised McKenna, prior to Sahle’s acceptance of the deferred-sentencing agreement, that it was weighing whether to pursue bias enhancements, colloquially known as hate-crime charges, against both women.
DeNiro previously told Metro Weekly that the women were being encouraged to beat him up by several men who were accompanying them. He said that the women continued to loiter outside the restaurant even after the camera was turned off and restaurant employees had separated DeNiro and the women. He also said both women used epithets such as ”faggot” and ”tranny” when he exited the restaurant.
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