Lemijamin Jarquis Watters, 27, was shot and killed on the evening of Saturday, March 15, 2025, in the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham. Officers from the West Precinct found Watters unresponsive inside a vehicle at the intersection of 16th Street and Avenue J shortly after 9:00 p.m.; he had sustained a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators say an altercation between Watters and Marty Persons Jr. preceded the shooting and that Persons allegedly fired at least one shot that struck Watters. Police presented the investigation to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, which issued a capital murder warrant for Persons. He was taken into custody and booked into the Jefferson County Jail, held without bond.

Was anyone in the Ensley area that night aware of a confrontation near 16th Street and Avenue J or have information about the events leading up to the shooting?