A somber Jaimee J. Watson admitted Tuesday in Schuylkill County Court that she participated in the killing of Elijah T. Carraway in June 2013 in Pottsville and said she will testify against the man prosecutors allege pulled the trigger.
Watson, 20, of Pottsville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit third-degree murder, with prosecutors withdrawing charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
"Do you admit that on June 11, 2013, you conspired with Anthony Ballard to kill Elijah Carraway?" President Judge William E. Baldwin asked Watson before accepting her plea.
"Yes," Watson answered.
Baldwin told Watson, who sat through Tuesday's hearing in handcuffs and a prison jumpsuit, that under the terms of the plea agreement she has with prosecutors, she will spend eight to 16 years in a state correctional institution. However, the judge did not immediately sentence Watson.
"(The agreement) also requires that you testify against your co-defendant," Baldwin said. "I will withhold sentencing until after your co-defendant has gone to trial."
Watson said little during Tuesday's hearing except to indicate that she understood her plea and that she made it knowingly and voluntarily. After it ended, she returned to the county prison, where she is being held without bail, to await sentencing.
Ballard also is being held in the county prison without bail while awaiting trial for allegedly killing Carraway, 19, of Pottsville.
Pottsville police alleged Ballard shot and killed Carraway about 8:30 p.m. June 11, 2013, near West Laurel Boulevard and Sanderson Street in the city.
Ballard is charged with criminal homicide, conspiracy, aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person, and is being held in prison without bail.
If convicted of the most serious charge, first-degree murder, Ballard faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of parole.
Baldwin, who is also presiding over Ballard's case, has not yet scheduled his trial.
After the hearing, Jeffrey M. Markosky, Mahanoy City, Watson's lawyer, and Assistant District Attorney Robert I. Lipkin each declined to comment on Watson's plea.Defendant: Jaimee J. Watson
Age: 20
Residence: Pottsville
Crime committed: Conspiracy to commit third-degree murder