After a six-week-long trial in Onslow County Superior Court, a jury found a Jacksonville man guilty of murder Wednesday morning.
Aron Burdell Watkins, 51, of Blue Creek Road in Jacksonville, was found guilty of one count of murder, one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, and one count of being a habitual felon.
North Carolina Superior Court Judge Bob Cherry sentenced Watkins to life in prison without the possibility of parole on the murder and habitual felon counts, while sentencing Watkins to a minimum of 146 months and a maximum of 188 months (12-15 years) for robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon.
On November 2, 2021, just after 6 p.m., Onslow County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to Onslow Memorial Hospital for a report of a man suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim, Jonathan O’Neal, had been transported to the hospital in a car and dropped off at the emergency room.
O’Neal passed away later that night from the gunshot wound.
The investigation revealed that O’Neal and Watkins had been in an altercation at a residence on Blue Creek Road earlier that evening, which escalated, resulting in Watkins shooting O’Neal. Watkins and a female subject drove O’Neal to the hospital, where they dropped him off and left the area.
Watkins was arrested on November 22, 2021.
Onslow County District Attorney Chief Assistant Michael Maultsby prosecuted the case, while Attorneys Christian Smith and Ed Baily represented the defendant. For more information or questions, please contact the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office at 910- 455-3113 or Public Information Officer Trevor Dunnell at (910) 219-4936 ext. 4936, Cell: (910) 787-4216.
