Trial avoided when defendant pleads

Just after opening statements, a young Seneca man changed his plead. The judge in Oconee General Sessions accepted Tyson Tyrone Watt’s plea to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and possession of a weapon during a violent crime and handed down a sentence, sending Watt to prison for 15 years. The office of Solicitor Chrissy Adams released this statement: “On May 2, 2011 Tevin Lewis was some friends on East Main Street in Seneca. The defendant came by and engaged in a verbal argument with Lewis. Watt left the location but returned approximately an hour later armed with a gun. Watt shot Lewis and as Lewis was retreating, Watt shot him a second time. The victim was later airlifted to Greenville Hospital with life-threatening injuries.” Adams added this, “Nothing good comes bringing a gun to an argument.”