Maine 18-year-old charged in death of paddleboarder ruled competent to stand trial

PORTLAND, Maine — A judge has ruled an 18-year-old man charged with murder in the killing of a paddleboarder in Maine is competent to stand trial. The death of Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart, 48, of St. George, last year shocked the community around Crawford Pond in rural Union, Maine. Authorities charged Deven Young of Frankfort, Maine, with murder in Stewart’s death in July, about two weeks after Stewart’s body was discovered. The court system has thus far treated Young as a juvenile. Prosecutors in the state want to charge Young, who was 17 at the time of Stewart’s death and is 18 now, as an adult. First, he needed to be deemed competent to stand trial, and a judge ruled this week that he is. “The court finds that the defendant is competent to proceed based on the court’s finding that the juvenile has a rational, as well as a factual, understanding of the proceedings and a sufficient present ability to consult with legal counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding,” wrote Maine District Court Judge Eric J. Walker on Wednesday. Young is due back in court on May 7. Police have said a medical examiner determined Stewart’s cause of