Man sentenced to life for deadly shooting outside Marion County middle school

A 36-year-old man has been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing a man outside a Marion County middle school following a student awards ceremony in 2024.A jury found Roderick Kelvin Watson Jr. guilty Thursday of premeditated first-degree murder in the death of 32-year-old Joseph James Jaurez Coles, according to the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office. Circuit Judge Barbara Kissner-Kwatkosky sentenced Watson to life in prison following the verdict.Shooting followed student awards ceremonyThe shooting happened May 22, 2024, in the parking lot of North Marion Middle School after an awards ceremony attended by students, families and school staff.Marion County sheriff's deputies responding to the school found Coles suffering from four gunshot wounds. He later died.Investigators said Coles had become involved in an argument with another person over a custody dispute when Watson intervened.Witnesses told investigators that Coles t