On April 12, a defendant waived his right to test an additional piece of evidence for DNA in front of DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein.
Kavon Young, 32, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting John Pernell, 66, on July 3, 2010, on the 3000 block of Nelson Place, SE. Young was not arrested until 2019.
The prosecution stated that the only existing piece of evidence left to test was a set of unspecified nail clippings collected by law enforcement.
Kavon’s defense attorney, Mani Gozari, repeatedly questioned the purpose of testing remaining nail clippings as pieces of evidence, and stated that 14 years had passed since the incident. In addition, he stated that the findings would likely be inconclusive.
Judge Epstein concurred, and asked the defendant if he wished to waive his rights to DNA testing. The defendant formally waived his rights.
A trial readiness hearing is scheduled for May 7.
