Edwin Watters Calls 911 Over New Mexico Shooting

[chris]

Edwin Watters, a 58-year-old construction worker from Colorado, was involved in a fatal shooting of Diego Sena in Santa Fe in August. Initially, Watters faced a first-degree murder charge for the incident that occurred at an east-side residential compound where both men were working on a remodeling project. Watters claimed self-defense, stating that he shot Sena, who was 45 years old, in response to a drunken assault.

During the preliminary hearing, it was revealed that Watters and Sena had a history of confrontations. Sena, known to be confrontational, was eventually fired from the project but continued to have heated encounters with Watters, as they lived next door to each other.

The situation escalated on the night of August 14, when Watters returned from his father’s funeral. A toxicology report showed that Sena had a blood-alcohol content of 0.12 and cocaine in his system at the time of the shooting. Watters admitted to shooting Sena multiple times "until the gun stopped shooting."

However, instead of going to trial, Watters reached a plea deal with prosecutors. He pled no contest to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to up to 18 months of probation, avoiding prison time. The agreement also includes a potential $5,000 fine and the possibility of a three-year prison sentence at a later date, contingent on his adherence to probation conditions. Watters is allowed to serve his probation in Colorado.