Tranvestite Hooker Deontay T. Duffy Arrested On Penn Ave. N., Judicial System Throws Him Right Back On Our Streets...

Photos and blog post by John Hoff


On Tuesday, April 12, while "citizen patrolling" Penn Ave. N. with my girlfriend Megan Goodmundson, we ran into what can only be described as a "hooker convention." There were so many suspected prostitutes in a small area in and around Penn Ave. N., it was tough to keep them all straight as we repeatedly dialed 911.

It was like playing Prostitute Whack A Mole. In addition to calling police, we took some photos of the girls.

But it turned out not all the girls were, um, girls...



An individual named Deontay T. Duffy is the individual pictured to the left in the photos, above. Two days later, after police had made the hookers "move along," they moved right back where they were before and, once again, 911 calls were made by frustrated citizens. Deontay Duffy was dressed in the same outfit and so could be matched up as the same individual in these photos.

This time, an officer named Heiple (a 20-year Northside veteran, currently assigned to the Broadway Beat) decided "move along" wasn't good enough. The officer called the reporting citizen back for more information, and said--in a tone of moral outrage--the prostitute in question, Deontay Duffy, just kept coming back and needed to be put in jail instead of merely told to move along.

In the course of this conversation, Heiple used a male pronoun to describe the prostitute being detained. There was a moment of confusion. Was it a prostitute or a john being arrested? The officer explained Deontay Duffy is a man dressed like a woman.

Though I wasn't sure how to spell "Deontay," still the name "Duffy" is easy to spell and it was how I found Deontay Duffy on the jailhouse roster--already on the streets again with a minor fine. It's hard to believe the judicial system put Duffy right back on the streets, considering his record, as follows:


27-CR-04-018462
DUFFY, DEONTAY TRAMEL
03/12/1986
11/17/2004
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
ATTEMPTED AGGRAVATED ROBBERY 1ST DEGREE
ASSAULT-2ND DEGREE

(Result: Convicted on the robbery, assault charge dismissed, $50 fine, served 79 of 180 days in the workhouse before being released for "therapy." This was in 2005)

27-CR-05-074792
DUFFY, DEONTAY TRAMEL
03/12/1986
11/22/2005
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
DRUG PARAPHERNALIA/PUB PLACE PROHIB
INTERFER WITH PEDESTRIAN OR VEHICULAR TRAFFIC
WEAPONS, CARRY PROHIBITED

(Result: Drug paraphernalia dismissed, weapons dismissed, convicted of interfering with traffic, sentenced to 11 days in the workhouse with credit for 11 days in jail)

27-CR-07-116396
DUFFY, DEONTAY TRAMEL
03/12/1986
10/05/2007
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
Prostitute-Solicit/Accept Solicitation to Engage for Hire in a Public Place

(Pled guilty. $50 fine, stayed. Sentenced to 365 days in the workhouse, appears to have been stayed. Two years probation from 2/14/2008 through 2/14/2010. Violated probation. Appears to have served SOME time, not clear how much)


27-CR-08-42466
DUFFY, DEONTAY TRAMEL
03/12/1986
08/23/2008
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
GIVE PEACE OFFICER FALSE NAME/BIRTHDATE/ID CARD
DRIVERS LICENSE-DRIVING WITHOUT A VALID LICENSE OR VEHICLE CLASS/TYPE; MULTIPLE LICENSES PROHIBITED

(Result: Convicted of driving without a valid license. Hard to tell what happened, here, but it's summarized this way:

Local Confinement:
Agency: Hennepin County Workhouse - Adult Corrections
Term: 30 Days
Time To Serve: 30 Days
Duration: 08/25/2008 4:00 PM
Credit For Time Served: 5 Days
Comment: R25 at WH, furlough to tx when bed is available, Pride program
Status: Active 08/25/2008)


27-CR-10-7336
DUFFY, DEONTAY TRAMEL
03/12/1986
02/18/2010
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
GIVE PEACE OFFICER FALSE NAME/BIRTHDATE/ID CARD

(Result: Guilty. This was concurrent with the other case)


27-CR-10-26800
1100217072
DUFFY, DEONTAY TRAMEL
03/12/1986
06/11/2010
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Under Court Jurisdiction
Trespassing

(Result: Guilty. Appears to have served two days)

27-CR-11-10138
1110498936
1110498936
DUFFY, DEONTAY TRAMEL
03/12/1986
04/07/2011
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Under Court Jurisdiction
Possession of drug paraphernalia in a public place.
Public urination prohibited. It is unlawful to urinate or defecate on any public street, alley, side

(Result: paraphernalia charged dropped, convicted on the urination, appears to have served two days)

Deontay's prostitution charge was mentioned in a Third Precinct police highlights, which made the Minneapolis Crime Watch Blog, click here.


Officer House was credited with that arrest, as follows:

"Officer House then picked up one that was dressed like a woman but was a man Lake St E and 13th Ave S. Officer House was able to close the deal and AP1 DEONTAY DUFFY was booked HCJ for P/C prostitution. CCN#07-236005"

The fact Deontay Duffy has been the recipient of "revolving door justice" and then has returned, anyway, to keep hooking on our streets is, of course, an outrage. Obviously, a geographic restriction is needed to keep him off Penn Ave. N.

However, Deontay was hardly alone in his hooking. Deontay just happened to be the one who got apprehended. Here are some photos that document what citizens of North Minneapolis are enduring on Penn Ave. N. and why we need more aggressive action by the police and sterner sentences from the courts:




A hooker sits near 2755 Penn Ave. N., a vacant building that is so consistently used by prostitutes the steps have been dubbed the "hooker steps." This photo is taken with the aid of a rear view mirror of a car, so it's a reverse image.




Same hooker, different photo. That's right, as you hook on Penn Ave. N. we are photographing you and slapping it all over the internet. Any john that picks up a hooker on Penn Ave. N. or Lowry is going to get the same treatment, it's just a matter of our cameras being in the right place at the right time. Click here for an example of how we do write-ups on suspected johns.



Squad 420 told the hooker on the steps to "move along." It's fair to say we were disappointed, but Officer Heiple restored our faith two days later.




We called on this hooker (here seen putting the "street walking" in "street walker") but she left before the police came, apparently noticing how our car circled and we were making a phone call. In this case, it appears it was actually our efforts that drove her off. She turned and gave us what could only be called a "sarcastic wave."

To which I reply: KEEP WALKING.



This suspected hooker was really going for that high visibility look. Who is outfitted more brightly? The suspected hooker or the fire hydrant. I think you gotta give this one to the alleged and suspected hooker, but only because of the shoes. The fire hydrant lacks any footwear.



In making hooker calls--over and over--we have learned a police term and also come up with our own handy term.

"EOT" means "Eyes On Traffic." It's a police phrase used to describe the overly-attentive way hookers make eye contact with the driver of each passing car. Drug dealers do the same thing. When trying to distinguish a drug dealer or hooker from an average citizen, watch for the "EOT." But often the hookers make it easy with whooping, waving, hip thrusts, that whole pretty woman thing without the "pretty" or, in the case of Deontay Duffy, without the "woman."

Another term--and this was invented by Megan--is "A to B'er." This is somebody who, no matter how much they may LOOK like a hooker or drug dealer, walks with a purpose as though going from "A to B." Hookers often loiter, hang around, glue themselves to a corner. They also walk against traffic so they can engage in "EOT."




This individual was seen engaging in activity that looked like solicitation while hanging around right next to Deontay T. Duffy, a known transvestite prostitute. In looking over my photos, I am left wondering: is this individual a transvestite as well? Megan and I have looked closely at the photos for clues, as follows:




Are those hands big? Or not? Hard call.



Is the Adam's apple too big for a female? Tough call. But look at the face! Truly "mannish."



I look at the legs and say to myself, "That looks more like a man's leg than a woman's." But Megan says no, she just doesn't see what I see. Oh, yes, the person is probably a transvestite, but the proof isn't in this picture of the leg.

As much fun as it may be to play "guess the hooker's gender," citizens in North Minneapolis shouldn't be put in the position of driving around, making these phone calls to police, dealing with hookers (of whatever gender) plying their trade in front of our children.

We want these hookers off, off, OFF PENN AVENUE NORTH.

And public officials can start with Deontay T. Duffy of 3243 Irving Ave. N.