Vanguard Desk Editor
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – A man accused of assault and other felonies was acquitted by a San Francisco jury Aug. 26 after the SF Public Defender’s Office successfully argued the accused was simply defending himself in the 2022 incident.
The PD Office said in a statement this week, “41-year-old Kenneth Young…acted in self-defense by punching a man who had yelled at him, stepped into his apartment, and returned to his apartment building later in the evening.”
“Mr. Young was protecting himself from a man who had trespassed into his apartment and would have attacked and seriously harmed him had Mr. Young not defended himself,” said Deputy Public Defender Bao Doan, who represented Young in the case.
The facts of the case, according to the defense, noted, on Aug. 19, 2022, “Young was inside his apartment on Turk Street when a man began shouting outside his door. When Young opened his door, a 6-foot-3-inch-tall man was standing there with his genitals exposed, and the man had just urinated.
“Young and the man, who did not know each other, exchanged words, and the man stepped into Young’s apartment. Young, frightened, punched the man once, pushed him out of the apartment and locked the door.”
However, continued the defense, less than an hour later, Young was told by several people “a man who was possibly armed was standing in front of the building. Young, once outside, realized the man in front of the building was the same one who had stepped into his apartment.
“Fearing that the man had been waiting to retaliate and harm him, Young punched the man once to disarm him. Young then left the area of his apartment building and police arrested him several weeks later. Prosecutors charged him with several felonies, including assault, mayhem and battery.”
San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, in a statement, said, “We are so grateful to the thoughtful jurors in this case, who weighed the evidence and testimony carefully and determined that Mr. Young was acting in legitimate self-defense. I applaud the efforts of Mr. Young’s defense team for demonstrating this truth so effectively for the jury.”
