DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick announced today, December 26, 2023, that a Florida resident is charged with murdering his half-brother on Christmas day. Kendall Yarborough, age 28, of Palm Harbor, Florida, appeared in First Appearance Court Monday morning, December 26, 2023, where the Court granted the defendant’s motion to continue Yarborough’s pre-trial detention hearing until Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Kendall Yarborough is charged with two counts of First Degree Murder.
On Monday, December 25, 2023, at approximately 3:06 p.m., DuPage County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call of an individual who had been shot at a home in unincorporated Naperville located in the block of 25W0-100 Wood Court. Upon their arrival, deputies found the victim, James Watson, inside the home with a gunshot to the abdomen. Watson was immediately transported to Level 1 Trauma Center Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital by Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District paramedics, where he was pronounced deceased by medical staff.
Kendall Yarborough was taken into custody by about 3:15 p.m.
Following an investigation into the shooting, Watson, who was downstairs, was allegedly upset that he could not find his cell phone and slammed a card table on the floor at which time Yarborough, who was upstairs, shot down towards Watson striking him in the abdomen. After the shooting, family members immediately called 9-1-1 and rendered aid to Watson. When processing the scene, authorities found a 9mm Sig Sauer P-365X handgun and one spent 9mm bullet casing. Yarborough was taken into custody from the residence without incident.
“On Christmas day, James Watson lost his life after his half-brother, Kendall Yarborough allegedly shot him in the abdomen while James was looking for his cell phone. This senseless act of violence will not go unpunished. To James’ family and friends, I offer my sincere condolences and wish them strength as they mourn the loss of a family member and come to terms with another family member accused of his murder. I thank DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick and his office for their work on this sad case. I also thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Robert Willis, Helen Kapas and Michael Paup, for their work in securing charges against Mr. Yarborough.”
— DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin
“It is horrible that a tragedy occurred on Christmas. It goes to show that domestic violence can occur in any home and that’s why we take domestic related incidents seriously at the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office. Thank you for all the hard work from first responders and State’s Attorney Bob Berlin’s office for handling this serious crime during their Christmas holiday.”
— DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick
Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendant’s guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
— DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office
THANKS FOR READING CARDINAL NEWS
Get updates from The Cardinal ALL NEWS FEEDS on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts and sub-category posts from The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor