A Florida man will spend the rest of his days behind bars for shooting his fiancée’s ex‑boyfriend to death at a school following a year‑end awards ceremony honoring student accomplishments.
**Inset:** Joseph James Juarez Coles (Snow’s Funeral Home). **Background:** Roderick Kelvin Watson Jr. on the stand during his murder trial for killing Coles in Florida (Marion County State Attorney’s Office).
Roderick Kelvin Watson Jr., 36, received a life sentence for the killing of 32‑year‑old Joseph James Juarez Coles after a jury convicted him of first‑degree murder, the Marion County State Attorney’s Office reported.
“A school campus should be a place where children learn, achieve, and celebrate their accomplishments – not a place where an adult illegally brings a firearm and uses it to take another person’s life,” State Attorney Bill Gladson said. “This defendant did just that during what was supposed to be a ceremonial event attended by countless students, families, and staff. Those actions cost a man his life and exposed others, including children, to a horrific act of violence. This conviction holds the defendant accountable, and the life sentence imposed reflects the gravity of his crime.”
The shooting unfolded on May 22, 2024, in the parking lot of North Marion Middle School in Citrus, about 25 miles south of Gainesville. Deputies discovered Coles with six gunshot wounds, according to a probable‑cause arrest affidavit, and recovered a gun in a nearby car with the clip pulled back, indicating the magazine had been emptied.
Coles was rushed to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
Investigators learned that Watson’s fiancée and Coles shared two children who attended the school. All three were at the ceremony, and a dispute erupted afterward because Coles wanted to take the kids to his home, while the mother insisted they stay with her because two school days remained.
The mother said Coles grabbed her arm and that Watson exited his car to protect her, but witnesses testified that Watson was the aggressor.
Witnesses told police that when Coles saw Watson holding a gun, he tried to run. Watson pursued him, seized him by the neck, and “shot him near point‑blank in the upper back” several times. Both men collapsed, and Watson then “beat the victim’s lifeless body” and kicked his head as he walked away.
After the shooting, witnesses observed Watson showing “no remorse” and “appeared happy about what he did.” Police noted that Watson was “walking around with a smile on his face.”
Watson remained at the scene, identified himself as the shooter to deputies, claimed self‑defense, and testified on the stand during his trial.
The jury, however, sided with prosecutors, relying on witness statements and other “vital evidence” gathered at the scene, according to the prosecution.
Coles was killed in a “senseless act of rage and hate,” his obituary read. He was a father of four.
“His love for his children knew no bounds; they were his world, his reason for existing. He was the epitome of a stand‑up father, their hero, who lived to see his children happy,” the obituary added.
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