PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — A 28-year-old Pensacola man is behind bars after a man was shot in Pensacola Police call a drug deal gone bad. 

Dustin Duayne Watkins, also known as “Shaggy,” was charged with attempted homicide and carrying an unlicensed concealed weapon.

On March 15, 2022, officers were called to an area near Pace Boulevard and Garden Street for a possible shooting. Officers said they found the victim sitting at the bus stop near the intersection with a gunshot wound to his forearm. 

Officers said they were able to find the crime scene underneath the overpass on Navy Boulevard., between “Q” St., and “W” St., along the railroad tracks. Officers spoke with Watkins, who was homeless at the time of the shooting. Watkins gave a false name to officers and requested a lawyer, according to the arrest report.

Officers said there were discrepancies between all of the witnesses as far as what led to the shooting, but all of them believed Watkins was the shooter. Witnesses said Watkins, who was homeless, shot the man after the pair got into an argument. According to the arrest report, Watkins fled the scene along the railroad tracks and began taking his clothes off.

Officers said the victim wouldn’t provide a statement to police or allow them to look at his gunshot wound. With the lack of cooperation and conflicting witness statements, officers couldn’t make an arrest in the case.

On March 24, officers talked with the victim again, who said he was extremely intoxicated and couldn’t remember the details of the event leading up to the shooting. The victim told police he went to a “friend’s house” near Bill Gregory Park with Watkins and several others.

The victim said he went to pay his friend back for a phone charger. He told police he was shot shortly after a gun sale involving Watkins and another fell through.

Officers spoke with the victim again after telling him, “[they] knew which house they were coming from.”

The victim changed his story, revealing that he, Watkins and three others went to the house off of “W” St., to purchase “dope.” While there, Watkins attempted to sell his pistol to someone inside of the residence in exchange for “spice,” a synthetic cannabinoid. 

There was a disagreement about the amount of drugs that could be exchanged for the gun. The sale fell through after a discussion of how expensive the gun’s ammunition was and how it was not worth the purchase, according to the report.

The victim said Watkins pulled out a knife while the group walked back to their tents. Watkins shot the victim after the two got into an argument. Watkins was booked into the Escambia County Jail on a $100,000 bond.