Overview

• Jurors found Watson guilty of second-degree murder and of shooting at an occupied vehicle, with firearm enhancements attached to both counts.
• Investigators say he merged onto northbound I-5 from Highway 120 near Lathrop around 12:45 p.m., swerved alongside the Amazon semi, and fired multiple shots that fatally struck driver Ilkhom Shodiev, 37.
• Shodiev’s truck left the freeway and crashed into parked cars and a building, and he was later pronounced dead at a hospital; authorities reported no other injuries.
• Dash-cam video, surveillance footage, witness statements, a partial license plate, cell phone and bank records, and gunshot residue in Watson’s vehicle led to his arrest later in June 2023.
• Watson has remained in custody without bail; a motive has not been disclosed, and sentencing is scheduled for September 23.