Cairo man pleads guilty to bank murders

BENTON, Ill. — A man who stabbed three bank employees, leaving two of them dead, as part of an attempted bank robbery in Cairo, Illinois, will spend the rest of his life in prison.

James Nathaniel Watts, 32, pleaded guilty to two charges Thursday afternoon in federal court.

Watts pleaded guilty to attempted armed bank robbery that resulted in death and illegal possession of a firearm. The plea was reached in exchange for a deal that did not seek the death penalty.

Assistant federal prosecutor George Norwood said his office would rescind the motion asking for the death penalty before a sentencing hearing for Watts at 1:30 p.m. May 25 in Benton.

The plea arrangement calls for life in prison without the possibility for release for the armed bank robbery that resulted in death and another 10 years for the firearm charge.

Part of the plea states Watts will be unable to appeal or seek clemency or a pardon.

In previous motions, Watts claimed he suffered a mental impairment.

He and his attorneys said he understood the terms of the plea agreement Thursday.

Judge J. Phil Gilbert said he is bound to accept the plea-sentencing arrangement despite federal sentencing guidelines.

Anita Grace of Olive Branch, Illinois, and Nita Smith of Wickliffe, Kentucky, died as a result of the crime, which was carried out May 15, 2014, near closing time for First National Bank.

Smith died at the scene, and Grace died after she was transported to a hospital, according to court documents.

Watts, wearing a pillow case on his head, met Grace, Smith and another employee, Kaeley Price, in front of the bank after it had closed, according to evidence Norwood presented Thursday.

He forced them back inside at the point of a Colt .380 handgun, Norwood said.

Watts bound each victim’s hands with zip ties but momentarily released two of them in an attempt to open the vault, Norwood said.

They were unable to open the vault because it was sealed with a time lock and could not be opened until the bank opened the next morning, Norwood said.

Watts then took all three victims into the bank’s break room, where he inflicted knife wounds on them, Norwood said.

Price was critically injured but survived, Norwood said.

Some of Watts’ interactions with the three victims outside and inside the bank were captured on surveillance footage, Norwood said.

During the attempted robbery, Watts communicated with his stepbrother Otha Don Watkins III using two-way radios Watts and a woman were seen buying the morning of May 15 at a Wal-Mart in Cape Girardeau, Norwood said.

He said Watkins was stationed near the Cairo police station and gave Watts information about police movements.

Watkins was indicted March 7 on charges of aiding and abetting armed bank robbery resulting in death, making a false statement, felon in possession of a firearm and conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, according to a superseding indictment.

Sharita S. Tipler is charged with transferring a Ruger 9 mm pistol to Watkins, according to the same indictment.

Watkins is accused of possessing this handgun between May 4 and May 17, 2014, in Alexander County, Illinois, but there is no information in the indictment connecting the weapon to the attempted robbery of First National Bank.

Watts left the bank May 15 in a 2014 Buick Enclave stolen from one of the employees, Norwood said.

The vehicle later was spotted in rural Missouri by an Illinois police officer who followed it in a high-speed pursuit that exceeded 100 miles per hour, according to an affidavit for a search warrant by FBI agent I.A. Bratcher.

The pursuit ended near the Illinois Central railroad trestle bridge spanning the Ohio river near Cairo, Bratcher wrote.

Watts exited the vehicle on foot and attempted to conceal himself within the trestle, Norwood said.

He later was cornered by law-enforcement agents, and a standoff ensued until 9 p.m., when Watts was apprehended, Bratcher wrote.

During the standoff, Watts asked whether Grace and Smith were dead, Bratcher wrote.

When officers responded, “No,” Watts said, “Yes they are. I made sure of it,” Bratcher wrote.

Watts also talked to his mother on a cellphone during the standoff and said, “I killed that woman,” Bratcher wrote.

Watts was found to have a cellphone and handbag belonging to Grace and the knife used to kill Grace and Smith in his possession at the scene of his capture, Norwood said.

Watts previously had pleaded guilty in 2010 to 11 counts of forgery; in 2006, he pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child.

Grace was the bank branch president.

She had called police in 2009 when 11 checks Watts had cashed were returned to the bank after being found to have been reported stolen, according to previous reports by the Southern Illinoisan newspaper.

Price and relatives for Grace and Smith have the right to speak at Watts’ sentencing hearing, Norwood said.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

Cairo, Ill.