PACIFIC COUNTY, Wash. — A man accused of beating another man to death in Long Beach in 2015 is now awaiting his prison sentence after entering into a plea agreement.
Charles Watts pleaded guilty Nov. 19 to second-degree manslaughter and five counts of witness tampering in the death of Jeffrey Beach.
Pacific County Prosecutor Michael Rothman said the agreement calls for a 61-month sentence - roughly five years. However, the final decision will be made by a judge at a sentencing hearing in December.
Watts was previously charged with murder and manslaughter. Rothman said he was unsure if he would have been able to get a murder conviction, and feared a manslaughter conviction might get thrown out over statute of limitations arguments, so he offered Beach the deal to ensure he would serve prison time. Otherwise, Rothman said, Watts could have walked free.
“Then I come up snake eyes,” said Rothman, “This family has waited far too long for justice.”
Rothman said the Beach family was grateful for Watts’ plea and was in agreement with the resolution.
Rothman thanked the help his agency received from King County investigators, the Washington Attorney General’s Office, the FBI, and the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office.
Pacific County Sheriff Daniel Garcia said he would have liked a longer sentence for Watts, but understands the situation prosecutors could have potentially found themselves in.
“I think this is an example of the nuances, intricacies, and difficulties of the process,” said Garcia, “I get it.”
In May, detectives arrested Watts, accusing him of killing Beach in 2015.
Investigators said Beach was beaten to death in Long Beach on July 3, 2015. He was in town for a softball tournament that was set to start the next day.
According to court documents, Beach touched a woman inappropriately and got in a fight with friends and family of the woman, including Watts. The woman Beach is accused of assaulting is Watts’ daughter, according to investigators.
Detectives said witnesses told them Watts beat up Beach and left him in the sand dunes.
When Beach’s friends found him, they called paramedics, and Beach was flown to a Portland hospital, where he later died.
Detectives said Watts initially told friends and family members not to tell police he had been involved in the fight or even in Long Beach that night. But when detectives re-interviewed some of those witnesses, several changed their stories and said Watts was responsible for Beach’s death.