Columbus man gets prison time in fatal South Side shooting that killed Joshua Watts
A man who fatally shot a father outside his South Side apartment in October will serve at least 14 years in prison.
Aaron Beamon, 20, entered guilty pleas to charges of involuntary manslaughter and having weapons under disability in connection with the Oct. 8 shooting death of 32-year-old Joshua Watts.
Judge Andy Miller ordered Beamon to serve a minimum of 14 years in prison and a maximum of 19 ½ years in prison.
Ruth Sims, Watts' mother, said there was no way to put into words the pain she continues to feel from her son's loss.
"There’s not a second of the day that I don’t miss him," Sims said. "Our whole family is forever changed."
Symone Wilson, Watt's younger sister, said her 3-year-old son has not been able to process that visiting his uncle in heaven isn't a possibility.
"How do you explain to a 3-year-old that heaven is forever," Wilson said. "That was the bond that shouldn’t have been broken."
On Oct. 8, Beamon fatally shot 32-year-old Joshua Watts, who was in a car in a parking lot on the 300 block of Buffalo Drive on the city's South Side.
Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Jack Wong said surveillance video from the apartment building Watts was parked in front of showed Beamon and another man coming out of the apartment and approaching Watts' car.
Around 5 p.m. on Oct. 8, Beamon appeared to hand something to Watts and then pull a gun, shooting Watts in the chest. Watts was able to fire back, Wong said, injuring Beamon.
Watts' foot came off the brake after he was shot, causing the car to move forward and crash into some trees on the side of the road.
The video showed Beamon running out of the camera's view and then going back into the apartment, where police found him shortly after the shooting.
Beamon told Miller he had nothing to say when given the opportunity to speak Wednesday before being sentenced.
As part of a plea deal in the case, charges of aggravated robbery, felonious assault, tampering with evidence and murder were dismissed.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man gets 14 years in psiron in October South Side shooting
