Until weeks ago there
hadn't been enough evidence to arrest Jim Watson for the five-year-old
murder of his wife Beverley.
But a top Fayette
sheriff's official revealed in court Monday that he tried on several occasions
to convince prosecutors to seek a warrant against Watson for stalking.
At Watson's bond hearing
Monday, Maj. Bruce Jordan claimed Watson stalked him in a number of ways,
including following his vehicle between 20 or 30 times during the investigation
and driving by his home several times.
Jordan also claimed
Watson confronted him in the parking lot of a local grocery store in 2000
and attended one of his daughter's softball games.
"I made several
pleas with the DA (district attorney) and state solicitor" to file
stalking charges on Watson, Jordan said. "The DA asked me not to
because he felt he would eventually try him for homicide."
Jordan said when Watson
tried to physically interfere with him during a traffic stop for driving
with illegally tinted windows, he actually called the DA on his cell phone
to see if criminal charges could be filed on Watson.
"I said, 'How
much are we going to let this guy get away with?'" Jordan recalled.
"Nobody else gets away with stalking investigators and driving with
illegally tinted windows."
Jordan said the grocery
store confrontation happened although he tried to avoid Watson after noticing
him in the check-out line. Jordan said he gave Watson time to leave the
area that night before he attempted to leave the store.
Jordan said after
he and his son checked out, they left the store only to have a vehicle
creep up behind them.
Jordan said he pointed
at the vehicle and Watson, who was a passenger in the car, asked if he
was talking to him.
"I warned him
again about stalking," Jordan said. "... And after a couple
of comments from him, he drove off.
"... He was obviously
waiting for me in the parking lot."
The vehicle was actually
driven at the time by Watson's daughter, Ashley, Jordan said.
Watson was not questioned
about the confrontation during his testimony.
Jordan also alleged
that Watson tried to intimidate him by attending his daughter's softball
games. He said on one occasion Watson stood in front of him while he sat
in a chair near the fence.
Watson's attorney,
Lee Sexton, indicated that he might have been there to scout potential
players for the girls' softball team he coached.
"Mr. Sexton,
I do not believe that is what he was doing," Jordan replied.
Jordan said he was
fearful for his family "when he (Watson) is out and about."
Jordan also complained
that Watson drove slowly through the parking lot of the Sheriff's Department
a number of times during the investigation, which worried some employees
of the department.
Watson testified that
when he drove through the parking lot he was looking for the Georgia Bureau
of Investigations agent assigned to the investigation.
Sexton also argued
that the allegations of Watson "following" Jordan could be attributed
to the fact that they lived within three miles of each other at the time.
"I never intentionally
followed anyone from the Sheriff's Department," Watson testified.
But moments later, he admitted to once following a van from the Sheriff's
Department while his sister drove his vehicle.
Watson also admitted
to driving by Jordan's home on several occasions "just to see where
he lived."
Back
to News Home Page |







Easy button Return it to long suffering taxpayers including those who have paid huge tabs to educate other people's kids…