No death penalty in 2002 Millbrae murder

District Attorney Jim Fox made the announcement about Kenneth Earl Watson’s fate after meeting with defense attorneys and weighing his age, prior criminal history and the circumstances of his alleged murder of Damon Whitney.

"Both Mr. Watson and the victim were involved in the drug lifestyle and we did not think based on that we would be able to obtain a death penalty conviction,” said District Attorney Jim Fox.

With capital punishment off the table, Watson, 35, faces life in prison without parole if convicted of murdering Whitney with the special circumstance of shooting from a moving vehicle.

Watson has been in custody for more than year, since his return to San Mateo County upon release from prison on other charges stemming from the same summer crime spree capped by Whitney’s July 10, 2002 death.

In the summer of 2002, Watson was free from a one-year prison term for battery when he allegedly kidnapped his ex-wife at gunpoint from a Woodside home. The woman was later released and Watson escaped police, allegedly burglarizing an inhabited Belmont home weeks later.

In August, sheriff’s detectives seized more than 100 letters from Watson to an inmate at Valley State Prison for Women, according to a search warrant. The letters, according to the warrant, corroborate claims Watson killed Whitney and show the defendant trying to influence her testimony.

"[W]e’ll wait to see if you protect me in court. And you better, no matter what it takes,” one letter stated

During a two-day preliminary hearing, witnesses recalled Watson either threatening Whitney directly or saying he planned to kill him. The motive is still not clear-cut but witnesses theorized it was either a drug debt or Whitney having been intimate with Watson’s ex-wife.

During those weeks, according to witnesses who knew him, Watson smoked methamphetamine and threatened more than once to kill Whitney. The witnesses said they knew from newspaper accounts Watson was wanted but everybody looked out for each other because some had warrants themselves.

One friend, Bryan Chaney, testified during the hearing that "something came up and he said he was going to kill Damon,” prior to the shooting.

Whitney was shot inside his own Yukon outside a Millbrae residence and prosecutors argued Watson fired from an Explorer belonging to Chaney’s girlfriend.

Watson remained at large despite a multi-agency task force aimed specifically at his capture. Two days after Whitney’s death, Berkeley police picked up Watson on a tip.

After his arrest, Watson pleaded no contest to evasion charges and was sentenced to four years in prison. He was not charged with Whitney’s murder until his release from prison in November 2005.

At Watson’s preliminary hearing, defense attorney Jeff Boyarksy argued insufficient evidence exists to try Watson and said prosecutors cannot prove his whereabouts in a five-hour period leading up to Whitney’s death.

That same day Chaney testified he exchanged words with Watson in an elevator at the courthouse while he was being transported between the hearing and jail.

Watson, said Chaney, "just said, ‘don’t do this ... stay strong.’”

Watson remains in custody on no-bail status. He returns to court this morning to set a trial date.

The District Attorney’s Office last sought the death penalty in July 2003 for Seti Christopher Scanlan, charged with murdering a Burlingame bank manager during a takeover robbery. Scanlan was convicted but sentenced to life in prison without parole. Scott Peterson was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 2004 though his trial originated from Stanislaus County.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.