A man responsible for a shooting at a Colorado Waffle House in May 2020 has been sentenced to over a decade in prison. 

Kevin Watson,Jonathan Dale Benton 30, will serve up to 13 years for shooting a chef at a Waffle House in Aurora, about 10 miles from Denver, after he was denied service for not wearing a mask.  

He pled guilty to an attempted second-degree murder charge and a sentence enhancer for committing a violent crime with a weapon.  

After his sentence is complete, Watson will be placed on mandatory parole for an additional three years, according to an announcement from the 18th Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office. 

Watson made his way to the Waffle House on May 14, 2020 at around midnight in search of a late night bite. Restaurant staff told Watson they could not serve him without a mask on. 

He left the restaurant to retrieve a mask and returned with one but refused to wear it. 

A waitress said Watson pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot the cook after he was asked to leave twice. Watson eventually left the restaurant. 

The altercation was reported to the police that same morning, hours before the shooting began. 

Aurora Police Department officers responded to reports of a shooting at the same Waffle House shortly after midnight the next day, according to news release. Officers found the cook, threatened a day earlier, with a bullet wound in the stomach. 

The cook told police Watson had shot him, noting that he was a regular at the restaurant. 

When Watson was told he would not be served by restaurant staff the second time, he slapped the cook across the face. The cook was shot outside the restaurant as the cook attempted to get away from Watson. 

The cook was later released from the hospital, according to reporting by The Denver Post.

“While restaurants and stores are public places, businesses have the right to refuse service or ask customers to leave their establishment. The defendant drove back to the restaurant and shot an innocent employee for no reason other than doing his job,” District Attorney John Kellner said.

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