A Bethlehem man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was found guilty of killing a Monroe County woman nearly three years ago in the city.

Marquis Watkins, 24, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole for the Dec. 10, 2022 fatal shooting of Jani Bostic, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta said. He was found guilty last month of second-degree murder, robbery and firearms offenses following a a four-day trial. 

Bostic, 21, of East Stroudsburg, was fatally shot in the 1200 block of Butztown Road. She died from her injuries a few days later.

The DA said Bostic and another man, Peter Byrne, were in a vehicle in the area for a marijuana drug deal Watkins arranged. He went up to the vehicle, took the marijuana, then shot Bostic as she sat in the driver’s seat, the DA’s office said in a news release. Byrne then fired in Watkins’ direction.

Watkins denied being involved in the shooting, but investigators found evidence linking him directly to it, Baratta said. That included finding the gun used in the shooting in his townhome, which was near the shooting scene.

Judge Anthony Beltrami sentenced Watkins Tuesday to the mandatory sentence of life in prison.