Kevin Johnson Pleads Guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter for 2020 Shooting Death

Posted on 3/7/2023

Defendant: Kevin Johnson

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kevin Johnson pled guilty on Monday, March 6, to voluntary manslaughter with a three-year firearm specification for the shooting death of Jermar Watters in 2020. He had been charged with murder in the case.

Johnson, 57, was immediately sentenced to the mandatory 10 years in prison — seven for manslaughter and three for the use of a firearm. He has 952 days of jail credit since his arrest on July 28, 2020.

On June 22, 2020, Johnson was at the home of his long-term girlfriend in the 1000 block of East 17th Avenue. He left the house after getting into an altercation with 32-year-old Jermar Watters, a close friend of his girlfriend. Johnson returned a while later with a gun and shot Watters, who also had and fired a gun. Johnson then fled and disposed of his gun.

Columbus medics transported Watters to OSU Wexner Medical Center, where he died less than three hours later from his gunshot wound.

Mark Wodarcyk, senior assistant prosecuting attorney, and Alexis Dorsey, assistant prosecuting attorney, prosecuted the case for the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.