David Doherty was standing at his desk inside the Los Angeles headquarters of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration when a supervisor from another office stormed in hurling profanities. <\/p>\n
Doherty testified at a preliminary hearing in a San Fernando courtroom earlier this year that a fellow agent, James Young, got \u201cface to face\u201d with Doherty and challenged him to a fight without provocation.<\/p>\n
Doherty said he tried to deescalate by hugging Young and saying it was \u201call good brother,\u201d according to his testimony. But then, Doherty said, he felt Young\u2019s DEA-issued handgun jammed against his midsection. <\/p>\n
\u201cI got you motherf\u2014,\u201d Doherty recalled Young saying. <\/p>\n
Young then aimed the weapon at Doherty\u2019s face, according to the agent\u2019s testimony. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
James Young allegedly pointed a gun at a fellow federal agent during a 2022 incident at the Drug Enforcement Agency office in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
(Al Seib \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n
Staring down the barrel of a gun wielded by an official who, at that time in 2022, oversaw roughly 30 officers in the DEA\u2019s Ventura County office, Doherty told the court, he wrestled Young to the ground and disarmed him.<\/p>\n
More than two years later, Los Angeles County prosecutors charged Young, 54, with assault<\/a> over the incident. <\/p>\n It was one of several bizarre moments that led Young to exit the DEA \u2014 but only after the agency promoted him twice despite documented concerns about his behavior and mental health.<\/p>\n The Times reviewed a Los Angeles police report Doherty filed about the alleged attack along with DEA disciplinary records and internal e-mails.<\/p>\n The records show DEA officials were well aware of Young\u2019s concerning behavior, yet still gave him increased responsibilities. One high-ranking DEA official even tried to dissuade Doherty from reporting the attack to police, according to the agent\u2019s testimony and the LAPD report.<\/p>\n After Doherty\u2019s preliminary hearing testimony, Young was held to answer on on multiple charges for crimes he allegedly committed between 2022 and 2024, including a road rage incident, domestic violence and illegal possession of a stockpile of guns, ammo and grenades.<\/p>\n Young, who remains free on bond, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He declined to comment. His defense attorney, Jeff Voll, said he plans to ask a judge to grant Young entry into a diversion program due to mental health issues, but offered no further details about his client or the case. <\/p>\n