Trial for Man Who Killed Tuscaloosa Investigator Likely to Begin

The capital murder trial of a man who fatally shot a Tuscaloosa Police investigator more than six years ago is expected to finally begin next month, if there are no further delays.

As the Thread has extensively reported, Luther Bernard Watkins has been jailed locally since September 2019, when he shot and killed TPD Investigator Dornell Cousette as the off-duty officer tried to arrest him on the porch of a home on the west end.

Watkins ran inside, and a gunfight ensued inside the house, during which experts say Cousette shot Watkins twice, first in the back and then in the shoulder as he stood over him. The then-19-year-old shot the investigator one time, striking him in the head and killing him.

Watkins was arrested shortly afterward and, after being treated for his wounds, was charged with capital murder and jailed without bond. Although he has not been convicted, he has been held in jail for around 75 months as the case creeps along.

Now-retired Circuit Judge Bradley Almond is presiding over the case and has gotten special permission from the state to see it through to conclusion despite vacating the bench in December.

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Getting to a jury trial has taken this long for a number of reasons, including that Watkins is now on his third team of defense attorneys.

Longtime lawyer Jim Strandridge was his first representative in court, but retired before it went to trial. A team led by Gary Blume then took over as Watkins' attorneys until they all withdrew from the case last year, citing differences with the client. Now, a new group of attorneys - Christopher Daniel, Scott Brower, and Justin Forrester - is advocating for Watkins.

The new crew asked Almond to delay the trial even longer so they could better prepare, but he denied their motion.

There are also more than 5,000 felony cases awaiting trial in the Tuscaloosa County court system, and only a handful of judges and prosecutors to work the backlog, exacerbating the delays.

When the Watkins case does move forward, it does so slowly, and the last few years have seen a series of motions, hearings, rulings, and appeals.

2025 in particular focused on the defense's argument that Watkins was acting in self-defense because Cousette disobeyed orders trying to arrest him and had already shot him twice when he returned fire. They asked for the case to be dismissed without a trial because a defensive killing is not a crime.

Almond denied their motion for pre-trial immunity, saying that Watkins was breaking the law when he ran from Cousette, and you can't act in self-defense while also committing a crime.

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals agreed with Almond, finally setting up a trial expected to begin the first week of February.

During a brief status hearing on Monday morning, Almond heard from District Attorney Hays Webb, his chief prosecutor, Paula Whitley Abernathy, and the new defense team regarding a series of unresolved motions.

Friends and family of both Watkins and Cousette packed out the second-floor courtroom for the primarily procedural hearing, then were cleared into the hallway while the court discussed confidential information regarding a motion involving a juvenile.

Almond ended the hearing without letting those spectators or the media back into the courtroom.

As DA Webb left the courtroom, he spoke briefly with reporters and said he expects the trial to begin early next month.

"The trial starts February 2nd, and today was just standard stuff before a trial, though normally it doesn't have this level of interest," Webb said. "I'm as confident as I can be [about the trial beginning on time,] although you never know what could come up. I think everybody is working hard to get it ready for trial on February 2nd."

Webb also confirmed the state is still seeking to execute Watkins if he is convicted of capital murder.

"It's been a long time for everybody, for sure - we'll keep plugging along," Webb said. "We appreciate the families out here, the victim's family in particular, they're bearing with the process, and they lost their loved one over six years ago.

For coverage from the trial when it begins, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.