Pima County Judge On Leave; Allegedly Fired Shot At Stalker

By Jill Ryan
Associated Press
Published: Monday, March 8, 2021 - 8:43am
Updated: Monday, March 8, 2021 - 8:53am
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A Pima County justice of the peace has been placed on administrative leave after allegedly firing a warning shot at an unarmed stalking suspect.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that authorities are investigating a criminal case that could test the limits on when it’s legal to fire a gun in Arizona.

According to the newspaper, 59-year-old Adam Watters is under investigation for firing what he called a “warning shot” at a man outside his Tucson home last month.

Public records show the man later was arrested on suspicion of felony stalking for allegedly driving by Watters’ house repeatedly and leaving litter is his yard.

The Star reports that 38-year-old Fei Qin is a Tucson landlord and recently had an eviction case handled by Watters in the county's Justice Court.

Some of the trash left in Watters’ yard reportedly contained mail addressed to the tenants Qin had hoped to evict.

Watters usually handled domestic violence cases and said he only recently started doing some evictions work as well.

A police reports showed Qin was not armed when Watters fired a round that struck the ground near Qin.

County Sheriff Chris Nanos declined comment on the case because the investigation is ongoing.