Left inset: Jontae Watkins (WEWS). Right inset: Ernestine Stallings (Rhoden Memorial Home). Background: The Dollar Tree in Akron, Ohio, where Jontae Watkins shot and killed Ernestine Stallings as she was loading birthday balloons into a car (Google Maps).
An Ohio man has received a life sentence for the fatal shooting of a woman in a tragic case of mistaken identity. The woman was loading birthday balloons into her car when she was shot with an AR-15. Prosecutors revealed that the shooter believed he was targeting someone involved in the unsolved murder of his girlfriend.
Tasha Love, the fiancée of the victim, Ernestine Stallings, recounted the harrowing incident to local ABC affiliate WEWS. Love was standing beside Stallings at the time of the 2023 shooting, which was carried out by Jontae Watkins. “I could feel the heat from the bullets coming past my leg,” Love said as she helped Stallings with the balloons.
Love described how Watkins had mistaken Stallings for someone else. “All he saw was the back of her head, her braids, a baseball cap, and glasses,” she explained. “It could have been anybody.”
In October, the 26-year-old Watkins entered a no-contest plea to aggravated murder for the shooting that took place on July 3, 2023. Prosecutors detailed how he drove into the Dollar Tree parking lot in Akron, where Stallings was shopping for balloons, and waited for her to emerge before opening fire, according to WEWS.
Watkins reportedly admitted to the killing, acknowledging that it was a case of mistaken identity. He and his late girlfriend, Atavia Robinson, had been victims of a shooting outside a movie theater in June 2022, and Watkins mistakenly believed Stallings was involved in that unresolved case.
Following Watkins’ no-contest plea, Love expressed her frustration, stating, “He’s still not taking any accountability. He did it in cold blood. He’s a cold-blooded killer.”
Watkins was accused of shooting Stallings six times in the back and torso. A 911 audio recording obtained by WEWS features a description of what shoppers allegedly saw that day outside the Dollar Tree, with a caller saying, “He literally came up behind her and shot her like for no reason.”
Online court records show that Watkins was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole coming after he serves 33 years.
“This reckless act of misplaced vengeance took the life of an innocent woman,” said Summit County Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich in a statement. “Violence in response to pain only creates more loss for our community. Our thoughts are with Ernestine Stallings’ loved ones as they grieve this senseless tragedy.”
