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Former Cambridge Police Officer Pleads No Contest In November Shooting
By: WOUB Staff Writer
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A former Cambridge police officer, charged in a November shooting, entered a plea in Guernsey County Common Pleas Court Monday morning.
69-year-old Ralph Watkins of Cambridge pleaded no contest to a single count of felonious assault with a firearm specification.
The judge then found Watkins guilty of the second-degree felony.
Watkins was arrested in November after shooting a 27-year-old male neighbor in Cambridge's Fairgrounds Addition.
Investigators say the shooting took place over Watkins' ongoing suspicions that a neighbor was poisoning his cats.
The victim survived the shooting.
Watkins faces a recommended five-year sentence, a provision of his negotiated plea.
That plea was approved by both the Cambridge Police Department and the victim.
A pre-sentence investigation will determine if the recommended sentence is accepted.
Watkins could face up to 11 years imprisonment when he is sentenced Sept. 26.