Custody dispute outside middle school leads to man killing fiancée’s ex, Florida cops say

A man shot and killed the father of his fiancée’s children during a custody argument outside a middle school awards ceremony, Florida authorities said.

Roderick Watson, 34, sat on a bench until police arrived and identified himself as the shooter, according to witnesses and deputies.

His attorney information is not available in Marion County records as of May 23.

Watson’s fiancée shared three kids with the victim, 32-year-old Joseph James Juarez Coles, the fiancée told deputies in a Marion County arrest affidavit.

The evening of May 22, Watson and his fiancée were attending the North Marion Middle School awards ceremony for her kids, and so was Coles, deputies said.

In the parking lot outside the school cafeteria, the family members were with their kids discussing “who the children would be going with,” deputies said in the affidavit.

Coles wanted to take the kids, but the mother said they still had a couple days of school left, the woman told deputies.

The woman said Coles grabbed her arm, then Watson grabbed her handgun from the car and shot him, deputies said.

He shot him multiple times and beat the man bloody on the ground as those nearby fled the violence, witnesses told authorities. Then a staff member rushed inside the school and told a guidance counselor to call 911.

Six handgun shell casings were found in the area, deputies said.

The man said it was self-defense but didn’t want to speak further to the deputy writing the report, the deputy wrote.

Watson was taken into custody without incident.

He’s charged with second-degree murder with a firearm and is being held without bond, authorities said.

North Marion Middle School is in Citra, part of the Ocala metropolitan area, about a 95-mile drive northwest from Orlando.

This story was originally published May 23, 2024 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Custody dispute outside middle school leads to man killing fiancée’s ex, Florida cops say."