2 New Jersey men convicted of killing honor roll student with autism

Two New Jersey men have been convicted in the 2021 killing of Yahsinn Robinson, a high school senior and honor roll student with autism, who they mistook as member of a rival gang, officials announced.

After a months-long trial and just several hours of deliberation, jurors found Kavon Carter and Sylas Young guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, gang criminality, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon, according to a statement released by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office late Wednesday. Carter was additionally convicted on counts of promoting organized street crime and certain persons not to have a weapon.

The charges stem from the slaying of 18-year-old Robinson on the April 22, 2021. A senior at Woodrow Wilson High School, Robinson was walking home from his part-time job when he was gunned down in his driveway around 11:30 p.m. that night.

Police said Carter and Young both fired off several rounds at the teen in a case of mistaken identity. An investigation revealed the men “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 prosecutor’s office said, adding that tensions between the rival groups had escalated in the days leading up to the shooting.

Robinson was not involved in the conflict in anyway, authorities said.

His mother, Saleenah Bell, described Robinson, who was on the autism spectrum, as a teddy bear and dedicated student. She mourned the fact that after all his hard work, he would never graduate or wear his cap and gown.

The loss is especially “difficult because this is what we worked for, she told CBS News.

“I hope that these people understand the hurt and pain they caused.”