(Anderson, SC). Jamal Watt was convicted on Wednesday in Anderson General Sessions Court of Attempted Murder, Assault & Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature and Resisting Arrest. Although the Honorable Edward Welmaker sentenced Watt, the sentence will remain sealed until Watt is taken into custody. Watt attended court Monday morning but failed to attend the balance of the trial.
On February 16, 2013, Watt and another customer at TJ Whispers fought following a misunderstanding between the two. The victim was told to leave the nightclub and he and his fiancée went next door to Andrews nightclub. Later, deputies were called to TJ Whispers on an unrelated matter. As the deputies were attempting to leave the scene, Watt left TJ Whispers. At approximately the same time, the victim left Andrews. The defendant engaged the victim in a verbal altercation during which the defendant pulled out a pistol and fired it. One round struck the door of TJ Whispers next to one of the deputies who was struck from the debris from the shot but was not injured. Officers on the scene told everyone to lie down on the ground to allow them to search for any weapons. Watt jumped up and ran away. He was eventually found in a dumpster behind Red Lobster. He later showed deputies where he had tossed the gun.
“The evidence in this case and the actions of the defendant clearly supported today’s guilty verdict,” said Solicitor Chrissy Adams. “Mr. Watt’s violent actions could have easily led to the loss of the victim’s life or the life of any of the people in the area that night. It is my hope that law enforcement can quickly locate and apprehend Mr. Watt before he presents any further danger to our community and I encourage anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts to contact local law enforcement immediately.”