A third man has been convicted in the 2020 murder of 26-year-old Otha Ray Watson near a Durham Cookout.
According to the Durham County District Attorney’s Office, Rashawn Harwell, 29, was found guilty Thursday of second-degree murder in Watson's death. Officials said the two men knew each other. Two co-defendants, Larry Harwell, 32, and Taylor Jones, 30, were convicted of second-degree murder in March 2023.
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Police said Watson was shot and killed on Sept. 13, 2020, at a crowded car meet-up near Cookout on Hillsborough Road in Durham. Prosecutors said Harwell displayed a gun and tried to start a fight with Watson, saying after Watson refused to fight, Harwell and the two others surrounded his vehicle.
Prosecutors said the three began shooting as Watson tried to drive away. He was shot in the head.
Evidence presented during the week-long trial included surveillance camera footage capturing the shooting, data from GPS monitoring devices and shell casings found at the scene.
Harwell, 29, was sentenced to between 17 and 21 years in prison. His conviction was the sixth homicide conviction obtained by the Durham DA’s Office in the past six weeks.
Watson, also known as Ray, is remembered as a loving father, son and friend. Watson was out with friends at a car meet-up near the Cookout when he and others were suddenly struck by bullets.
"I just started praying asking God to not take my child," said his mother, Ronda Watson Cameron, who is holding onto the final memory of her son.
Watson had four young children.