ROCKLAND – The Office of the Maine Attorney General confirmed Monday, July 21, that it will seek to have Deven Young, a 17-year-old juvenile, charged as an adult for the murder of Sunshine Stewart on July 2 in Union.  

Young was arrested July 16 by the Maine State Police during an investigation into the homicide of Stewart, who was located during a search of Crawford Pond in Union on July 3.

The Director of Public Affairs in the Office of the Maine Attorney General, Danna Hayes, said in an email July 21 that, “we moved to bind him over but that has not been ruled on yet.”

After the motion is filed, Knox County Judge Eric Walker, who is presiding in the case, will decide to schedule a bind-over hearing to determine if Young should be tried as an adult. 

According to the State of Maine Judicial website, at the bind-over hearing, the court considers testimony as to the seriousness of the offense, various evaluations, and whether jurisdiction of the juvenile court should be waived. If a juvenile is bound over, all remaining court matters are held in adult criminal court and the juvenile is subject to adult penalties.

The petition for review of detention of juvenile court document filed by the prosecution in Knox County Court July 17, and released to the public on the same day, stated that Young has committed an act that would be murder of a Class A, B, or C crime if committed by an adult.

If convicted of murder as an adult, Young could face a prison sentence of 25 years to life, according to Maine law.

This type of petition is usually open to public inspection and releases the juvenile’s name after the court determines that there is probable cause to believe the juvenile committed the alleged juvenile crime with the cases of murder, felony murder, or manslaughter.

Young made his initial court appearance via Zoom Friday morning, July 18, from the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland where he is still incarcerated. The hearing was held in Knox County Court before Judge Eric Walker.

He entered a denial of the charge during the hearing.

Young was ordered by the state to remain in custody on the charge of intentional or knowing or depraved indifference murder.

The affidavit remains sealed until a status conference is held on Aug. 22.

The status conference in a felony case is a procedural meeting including the judge, prosecutors and defense to address key aspects of the case before it proceeds further through the court system. Topics including discovery, meaning requests for additional evidence or disputes over admissibility, trial readiness, and plea options will be discussed.

Young is represented by Attorney Jeremy Pratt of Camden.

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com