ROCK HILL, S.C. — It's been 5 ½ years since Charlie Powers held open a door for a young man at a convenience store and was shot in the face at point-blank range.
"It's getting better, but I think a little bit more about getting out of my car in parking lots," Powers said Monday.
He was back in court again, staring at the man who shot him and three other people during one of the area's worst crime sprees. Phillip Watts is serving seven life sentences after confessing to seven armed robberies and the shootings.
At one time, Rock Hill police called Watts the most dangerous man they'd ever hunted. Following his arrest, he said he would never stop until police stopped him or killed him.
It all happened in fall 2007 and winter 2008. Now, Watts claims his former lawyer was at fault for at least one of his convictions.
He was in court for a post-conviction relief hearing, where he claimed attorney John Freeman did not do enough to defend him. Watts held a thick folder in his handcuffed hands containing his mental health records. He told a judge that Freeman should have asked for a mental health evaluation before his trial. Watts had been receiving mental health treatment before his violent crime spree and said Freeman never discussed that with him.
Freeman told the court he didn't remember if he'd had such a conversation with Watts but said he never had any concerns about his client's mental health.
"If I'd had concerns, I would have requested a hearing," Freeman said.
Powers couldn't fathom how someone could confess to such horrible crimes, then sit in court years later and deny it.
"I hope that one day he'll realize that he has to pay for what he did and grow up and do it," Powers said. "It all gets a little bit old after a while."
The Attorney General's Office is handling Watts' appeal. Assistant Attorney General J. Rutledge Johnson pointed out the facts that Watts confessed to police and many people identified him and his SUV he was driving at the time. His own girlfriend even told police he was the robber.
"Are you saying all the evidence at your trial was a lie?" Rutledge asked.
"Yeah," Watts replied.
On Monday afternoon, Channel 9 spoke with family members of several of the other shooting victims. Ping Chen was shot several times as she worked at the Saltwater Seafood Market, near downtown Rock Hill. Her brother said Monday that she has since moved to California but is still disfigured from the shooting and trying to get over it.
The husband of another victim, Yen Nguyen, said his wife still works at their convenience store, but she can't deal with the stress of going to court and wants to put the incident behind her, as well.
The judge said he would rule on Watts' appeal in about a week.
Man serving 7 life sentences blames attorney for conviction
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