Police determined Randy Watson was acting in self defense last fall when three men broke into his Kaysville apartment at 2 a.m. on Oct. 1, demanding their money back from a drug deal that went sour.
Watson pulled out a .32-caliber handgun and shot one of the men, Lee A. Anderson, 39, Sunset, in he head, killing him.But Watson, who was on probation for a prior drug conviction in Weber County, shouldn't have had a gun.
The shooting, even though it involved a drug deal gone bad, came under the state's defense of habitation law, police and the county attorney's office decided, so no charges were filed against Watson in that aspect of the incident.
He was charged with the second-degree felony crime of possession of a firearm by a restricted person and pleaded guilty in January.
Tuesday, 2nd District Judge Rodney S. Page sentenced Watson to one to 15 years in prison, to run concurrently with the term he's now serving on the drug conviction. The judge also ordered Watson to pay any restitution owing to the victim's family.
According to police, Anderson, along with Robert Ferron, 20, Sunset, and Trent Johns, 23, Clinton, broke into the apartment Watson shared with his girlfriend early on the morning of Oct. 1, demanding either the drugs they'd given Watson money to buy or the money back.
Watson had neither, police said, but was prepared for the attack. His girlfriend was hiding in the bathroom and he pulled out the handgun, shooting Anderson once in the head.
Johns and Ferrin fled but later turned themselves in to police. Watson, police said, was open with them about how the incident occurred and his story was later corroborated by Ferrin and Johns.