2010 Homicide Defendant Requests Release to Resolve Maryland Charges

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Defense attorney Mani Golzari asked DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein on Oct. 7 to release his client, Kavon Young, from DC Jail so Young can address a fugitive case pending against him in Maryland.

Young, 34, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of John Pernell, 66, on July 3, 2010, on the 3000 block of Nelson Place, SE.

Golzari suggested Judge Epstein could order Young back into custody a month before his trial, which is scheduled for April 7, 2025, but the prosecutor objected.

“[Young] will be in custody of a separate sovereign and we can’t necessarily get him back,” the prosecutor said.

Judge Epstein said it should be possible for Young to resolve the Maryland charges against him while waiting for trial, since he has succeeded in addressing federal charges against him during his time in DC custody.

“There is another mechanism to do this, which is for Maryland to submit a writ,” the prosecutor said. “The court wouldn’t have to release the hold in that case.”

Golzari said the defense is willing to accept any pathway to addressing the Maryland case.

“Our goal in all this is just for Mr. Young to put this all behind him,” Golzari said.

Judge Epstein asked parties to submit written motions explaining how they propose to deal with Young’s Maryland charges.

Golzari said he has subpoenaed evidence relevant to Young’s case from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which has two weeks to decide whether to turn over the materials or oppose the subpoena in federal court.

Judge Epstein set a hearing in a month for Golzari to update him on how that process is going. He said he’ll move the hearing date up if Golzari has progress to report sooner.

According to court documents, witnesses of Pernell’s murder said three-to-five men with guns stole wallets and phones from attendees at a cookout and pistol-whipped at least one of them. A witness said Pernell was shot after trying to take a gun away from one of the robbers.

Young was 19 years old at the time of the incident. More than nine years went by before police charged him with the murder after a DNA test linked him to biological evidence from the victim’s autopsy.

Parties are next scheduled to convene on Oct. 16.