Days before a D.C. murder trial was to begin, prosecutors decided the evidence they had against the defendant — who was in custody for more than five years — was not good enough, and the victim’s family still wants an explanation.

When John Pernell was shot to death on Nelson Place SE in July 2010, witnesses told police the retired protective service officer fought with one of four men trying to rob him and others. Pernell and his friends were setting up their barbeques for a traditional Fourth of July get together when the men jumped a fence and announced a robbery.

The investigation went nowhere until 2019, when a witness told police they should look at a man named Kavon Young.

According to a document filed in D.C. Superior Court, police said DNA discovered under Pernell’s fingernai

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