A 24-year-old Bethlehem man was sentenced to life in prison for the 2022 robbery and shooting death of a woman in the city.
On Tuesday, Marquis Michael Watkins was sentenced by Northampton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Judge Anthony Beltrami to serve life without the possibility of parole.
Watkins in October was found guilty following a jury trial of felony criminal homicide; two counts felony aggravated assault; felony robbery, and firearms offenses in the killing that claimed 21-year-old Jani Bostic of East Stroudsburg, Monroe County.
The Northampton County Prosecutor’s Office announced the sentencing Tuesday afternoon. Stroudsburg-based defense attorney Janet Jackson, representing Watkins, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Bostic was shot on Dec. 10, 2022, in the 1200 block of Butztown Road. Investigators found her suffering from gunshot wounds after she was shot sitting in the driver’s seat of her blue Kia Forte.
Bostic died of the gunshot wounds four days later at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg in the city.
The DA’s Office said Watkins arranged a marijuana drug deal at the Butztown Road location, which was near his home, and Bostic and another man arrived at the spot in her vehicle.
Once at the vehicle, Watkins took marijuana and then fatally shot Bostic as she sat in the driver’s seat, police said. The other man returned fire at Watkins, city police said.
Watkins was seen getting out of the back seat of the Kia after gunfire was heard, prosecutors previously said.
Witnesses reported hearing two shots before Watkins got out of the vehicle and put what appeared to be a semiautomatic handgun with an extended magazine into the front pocket of his sweatshirt, prosecutors said.
Watkins walked to a nearby home, according to police, and officers found a weapon that matched the description in a toilet tank in the home.
A gunshot residue test indicated Watkins had recently fired a weapon, prosecutors said. Two spent shell casings were found in the Kia and one of them matched the caliber, color and brand of ammunition recovered with the weapon.
The case was investigated by the Bethlehem Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division and the investigation was led by Bethlehem Police Sgt. Daniel J. Kennedy. The case was prosecuted by Northampton County First Assistant District Attorney Robert Eyer.