A Jacksonville man was sentenced to prison time on Tuesday for a gun crime.
30 year old Charles F. Watts of the 1700 block of South Main Street was found guilty in a bench trial of aggravated battery with a firearm.
Watts was found guilty of shooting 35 year old James Trotter in the abdomen in an apartment in the 200 block of South West Street during a social gathering on the evening of December 7, 2019. Watts and Trotter were alleged to have gotten into a verbal argument that soon escalated. Police later arrested Watts in a traffic stop in the 100 block of West Morton Avenue approximately four hours after the initial incident. Trotter was transported to Passavant Area Hospital for non-life threatening injuries, treated, and eventually released.
Judge Jeffrey Tobin sentenced Watts to 18 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, 3 years of Mandatory Supervised Release, a $1,000 county fine plus court costs. He was given credit for 598 days served in jail.
Watts has a separate case pending from a July 5, 2019 arrest. He has been charged with possession or use of a firearm by a felon, a Class 2 Felony. Status is set in that case for September 9th. If convicted in this outstanding case, the sentences could possibly be ordered to be served consecutively.
Watts remains in custody at the Morgan County Jail.