Man Sentenced for Shooting at 3 People in a Car

A Camden man has been sentenced to a total of 28 years in prison for shooting into a car occupied by three people and threatening to kill a woman, Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo and Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson said on Monday.

Donald Watkins, 42, was previously convicted on nine counts of aggravated assault and one count each of terroristic threats, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon and certain persons not to have weapons.

He will be required to serve 20 ½ years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

A jury found that Watkins fired multiple shots into a Dodge Charger occupied by a then-39-year-old Camden woman, her teenage son and her boyfriend on the 200 block of Rand Street in Camden on Jan. 18, 2013.

The woman’s boyfriend, a 39-year-old Merchantville man, was treated for a gunshot wound at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, but the woman and her son managed to escape unscathed.

Watkins approached the victims from behind while wearing a black mask, and began shooting at the car. He continued shooting as the victims tried to pull away.

Watkins was also found to have threatened to kill a then-30-year-old Woodbury woman on the same block earlier that day.