Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced that two Pemberton Township men were found guilty yesterday by a Superior Court jury for the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old Willingboro Township resident outside of his home in the spring of 2021.
Following a two-month trial, the jury deliberated for approximately three hours before convicting Kavon Carter, 27, and Sylas Young, 22, of Murder (First Degree), Conspiracy to Commit Murder (First Degree), Gang Criminality (First Degree), Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose (Second Degree) and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (Second Degree). Carter was additionally convicted of Promoting Organized Street Crime (First Degree) and Certain Persons Not to Have Weapons (Second Degree).
The Hon. Gerard H. Breland, J.S.C., scheduled sentencing for February 7, 2025. The defendants have been detained since being charged in December 2021.
The investigation into the fatal shooting of Yahsinn Robinson began after officers from the Willingboro Township Police Department were called to Barrington Lane just before 11:30 p.m. on April 22, 2021, for a report of shots fired. Robinson, a senior at Willingboro High School, had been struck by gunfire multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation revealed that Carter and Young, and their associates from Pemberton Township, had been involved in a long-running dispute with certain residents of the Buckingham Park section of Willingboro. The investigation determined that this shooting stemmed from an escalation of that friction. Robinson, who was returning home from his part-time job when killed, was not involved in the conflict in any way.
The defendants were prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutors Jamie Hutchinson and Colleen Gardner. The investigation was conducted by the Willingboro Township Police Department and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, with assistance from the Pemberton Township Police Department. The lead investigators were WTPD Sergeant Brandon Smith and BCPO Detective Sergeant Sean Tait.