Judge Rules on What Can Be Heard at Murder Trial of Man Who Killed Tuscaloosa Officer

A judge will allow jurors to hear that a Tuscaloosa police investigator killed in 2019 had agreed not to pursue the man who shot him when the murder case goes to trial next week.

The decision was one of several rulings ahead of the expected Monday start date of the capital murder trial of Luther Bernard Watkins, Jr.

As the Thread has reported at length, Watkins fatally shot TPD Investigator Dornell Cousette in September 2019 as the law enforcement officer attempted to arrest him on active warrants.

Police and prosecutors say Cousette, a 40-year-old father of two, was murdered while attempting to lawfully arrest Watkins.

Defense attorneys for Watkins have argued the killing was in self-defense. They say that Cousette was off-duty, though uniformed, when he sought out Watkins and acted against orders to leave it alone until other officers could back him up.

Experts testifying for the defense in previous hearings have also said Cousette shot Watkins in the back as the then-19-year-old ran away from him, then stood over him and shot him a second time as he was on the floor. They testified that Watkins fired a single shot from the floor and hit Cousette in the head, but that the officer's shots came first.

Cousette died the night of the gunfight, and Watkins survived and was charged with capital murder after his wounds were treated. Now 26, Watkins has been held in the Tuscaloosa County Jail without bond since the shooting, as a number of factors delayed the trial for more than six years.

Former attorneys for Watkins tried to have the case thrown out because acting in self-defense grants immunity to prosecution, but Circuit Judge Brad Almond denied their motion, saying that Watkins was either attempting to elude or resisting arrest when he ran from Cousette, and self-defense doesn't apply when you're committing a crime.

The ruling against pre-trial immunity does not prevent Watkins's attorneys from arguing self-defense at jury trial.

The murder trial is expected to finally begin on Monday, and both prosecutors and defense attorneys for Watkins had filed motions asking Judge Brad Almond to prevent some evidence from being presented to jurors.

The state asked Almond to keep the defense from referencing a conversation between Investigator Cousette and TPD Officer Bobby Windham just before the deadly gunfight.

It was reportedly during this call that Windham told Cousette that there were no available units to back him up, and that he should not go to Watkins' location or attempt to apprehend him.

They also asked Almond to prevent the defense from suggesting that Cousette, who went to the scene with a local bail bondsman, may have had a financial incentive to capture Luther Watkins.

On the other side of the case, defense attorneys for Watkins asked Almond to prevent prosecutors from discussing the details of any criminal charges filed against him when Watkins was a juvenile.

They also asked for Watkins' pre-arrest Facebook posts, some of which show him with firearms, be kept from the jury.

Judge Brad Almond, who retired in December but has been given permission to stay on and see this case to its conclusion, gave both sides mixed news in rulings made this week.

He denied the state's motion concerning Cousette's call with Officer Windham, so the jury will hear that Cousette knew no backup was available and had agreed not to pursue Watkins before the shooting.

He granted the state's motion about prohibiting mention of financial incentive in part - the defense will not be able to talk about the bail bondsman angle during opening statements or voir dire, but Almond said if they wish to pursue that information during witness testimony, he will consider the matter in court, outside the presence of jurors, and decide then.

He denied the defense's motion to keep the old Facebook posts out of the trial, so the state will be able to share pictures of Watkins as a teenager with guns.

He granted the defense's motion to suppress discussion of the details of Watkins' juvenile record, as state law makes that information inadmissible in other courts.

Those rulings set the stage for the trial to begin next week. If he is convicted, the state will seek the death penalty for Watkins.

For daily coverage of the trial when it begins next week and other exclusive coverage of crime and courts in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.