A St. Louis woman has been sentenced to a seven-year prison term for the fatal shooting of her girlfriend's friend during a dispute earlier this year. Jazzmyn Watford, 25, entered a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter and third-degree domestic assault charges on December 5, as part of a plea bargain with the prosecution, a report by St. Louis Circuit Court states. Despite initially facing more severe charges, including first-degree murder, the plea agreement resulted in a substantially reduced sentence.
The deadly altercation took place on March 30 at a residence in the Tower Grove East neighborhood of St. Louis. The confrontation began when Watford accused her girlfriend of infidelity and subsequently assaulted her. Amora Brown, also 25, who had been summoned to the location by Watford, attempted to intervene and was fatally shot during the ensuing argument. The incident escalated after Brown witnessed her friend's injuries and confronted Watford, leading to the tragic shooting after a broken door latch sparked further conflict.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Clinton Wright received a recommendation from prosecutors not to exceed seven years in jail as part of the plea agreement, which he honored. Wright imposed a seven-year sentence for the manslaughter charge and a concurrent four-year term for domestic assault. According to St. Louis Circuit Court records, the shooting victim's father expressed his dissatisfaction with the plea deal in a statement, preferring a jury trial instead.
During the court proceedings, family members and the boyfriend of Brown recalled their unending sorrow and the haunting memory of the event. "I watched my best friend die," Watford's ex-girlfriend detailed in a heart-wrenching testimony. Watford's attorney, David Rosener, requested a six-year term, arguing that Watford had not tried to "permanently flee" after an accidental release from city jail but instead, had contacted him to attempt to return. Watford was re-arrested the following day after a no-bond warrant was issued, as St. Louis Circuit Court records confirm.
In her statement to the St. Louis Circuit Court, Watford expressed remorse for the killing, acknowledging that "things could have went differently that day."
