Bindover hearing for teen accused in paddleboarder’s death may be delayed until February

ROCKLAND, Maine (WABI) - Arguments to decide whether a teenager accused of killing a paddleboarder in Union last summer will be tried as an adult may not be heard until February.

Deven Young of Frankfort was 17 at the time police say he killed 48-year-old Sunshine Stewart in July of last year.

While the judge hoped the bindover hearing for Young could be scheduled during Tuesday’s conference, it was delayed again.

Defense attorney Jeremy Pratt requested a date after Jan. 18, saying their expert has had difficulty entering Long Creek Youth Development Center to evaluate Young.

Judge Eric Walker offered to move the proceedings to Augusta to speed up the process, as new court software is being rolled out in the Midcoast region in mid-to-late November.

The defense argued their expert needs three months to finish her report after evaluating Young, noting the state’s experts had a year to prepare.

Prosecutor Lisa Bogue asked that if the hearing is pushed into the new year, it be scheduled for early February due to a conflicting murder trial in January.

“I’m just...getting a bit frustrated that this is taking so long. I want to give Mr. Young obviously every opportunity to explore his expert and get that evaluation done-obviously he has to have that done. I’m just concerned that we’re now talking January or February,” Walker said.

Walker asked if a December hearing was possible. The defense agreed to try, but noted that timeline may not be realistic.

A follow-up hearing is tentatively scheduled for the second week of November.

Once scheduled, both sides estimate the bindover hearing will take two to three days. It can take months for a judge to issue a decision following a bindover hearing.

Tuesday’s conference was rescheduled from a previous meeting. On July 14, both sides met for roughly four minutes, with the state requesting a postponement to wait for the results of a forensic evaluation.

Young was not present for Tuesday’s Zoom conference, but he did appear virtually from Long Creek during the prior meeting.