Jovan Young, Christmas Eve Kidnapping, New Jersey 2025

Newark, N.J. – In a disturbing case of holiday violence, a Georgia man has been charged with kidnapping his former girlfriend on Christmas Eve, leaving her paralyzed and trapped in a car for hours.

Jovan Young, 37, was charged by a two-count complaint with one count of kidnapping and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, according to U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer. Young had an initial appearance earlier today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark, III in Newark federal court and was ordered detained.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Young and the victim had been traveling from Georgia to New York to celebrate Christmas with the victim’s family when they engaged in a dispute in Young’s car. At that time, Young pulled out a gun and shot the victim in her abdomen, paralyzing her.

Young then transported the victim from New York to New Jersey without her consent and trapped her in Young’s vehicle for several hours after the shooting before leaving her on the side of the road in or around Denville, New Jersey, where she was later found by law enforcement.

Following Young’s arrest on December 25, 2025, he was found to be in possession of a firearm with a green laser that matched the victim’s description of the gun that he used to shoot her.

The kidnapping charged in Count One is punishable by a maximum penalty of life in prison. The unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition charged in Count Two is punishable by a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Both are also punishable by a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross loss or gain, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s North Jersey Violent Crimes Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, under the direction of Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, and the Denville Police Department Detective Bureau, under the direction of Chief Scott Welsch, with the investigation leading to the charge. He also thanked the Boonton Police Department for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Guarracino of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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