Akili Porter pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after surveillance footage documented the confrontation that killed Jamere Watley.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A Las Vegas man has been sentenced to 12 to 33 years in prison for fatally shooting his mother’s boyfriend during an argument that began after family members tried to stop him from driving following a night of drinking.

Akili Porter, 25, pleaded guilty in May to second-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon in the death of Jamere Watley. A judge imposed the prison term July 9, nearly 10 months after the shooting at the northwest Las Vegas home where Porter, his mother and Watley lived. Porter will become eligible for parole after serving 12 years, according to local reporting on the sentencing.

The case moved from a morning confrontation inside a shared home to a murder prosecution supported in part by residential surveillance video. Police said the recording captured the argument, Porter displaying a firearm, his brief departure from the house and his return moments before he fired multiple shots. That sequence became important because Porter later told investigators that he had feared for his life, while detectives said his behavior on the video appeared calm. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers were sent to the 10600 block of Mount Blackburn Avenue at about 9:55 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025, after a shooting was reported. They found a man suffering from apparent gunshot wounds and Porter inside the residence. Medical personnel pronounced the wounded man dead at the scene. Police later identified Porter, who was 24 at the time, as the suspected shooter and booked him on an open murder charge.

Reporting based on court and arrest records described a longer dispute that began before the gun was drawn. Porter’s mother told investigators that he had left an alcohol rehabilitation program about a month earlier and had resumed drinking. She and Watley found Porter passed out in bed that morning after he had been drinking the previous night, according to those records. They tried to take his truck keys because they did not want him to drive while impaired.

Porter became upset during that effort, slammed a door and went outside, the records said. Watley reacted angrily to the slammed door and shouted at Porter to close it. The available recording included profanity, but the confrontation was otherwise described by police as an argument over the door. Investigators did not report that Watley was armed, and the publicly available police account did not describe him physically attacking Porter before the shooting.

Police said Porter pulled out a firearm and pointed it at Watley. Porter then left the house but immediately went back inside and shot Watley multiple times, according to the department’s account. Authorities have not publicly released every portion of the video or a complete transcript. The available descriptions, however, place the exit and reentry between Porter’s display of the gun and the fatal gunfire.

That brief movement outside the home became one of the most consequential details in the case. Porter said that he acted because he feared for his life, according to reporting on the arrest documents. Investigators rejected that explanation as inconsistent with what they saw in the recording, writing that Porter appeared calm. His guilty plea meant a jury was not asked to decide whether the evidence would support a claim of self-defense or a conviction on the original charge.

Prosecutors initially charged Porter with open murder with the use of a deadly weapon. In Nevada, an open murder charge allows the degree of homicide to be determined as a case proceeds. Porter ultimately admitted to second-degree murder, which Nevada law defines as murder that does not fall within the statutory forms of first-degree murder. Second-degree murder remains a category A felony under state law. Nevada law provides two basic sentencing structures for second-degree murder: life in prison with parole eligibility after 10 years or a definite 25-year term with parole eligibility after 10 years. The use of a firearm or another deadly weapon can add a consecutive prison term of one to 20 years. The precise sentence imposed in a negotiated case depends on the judgment, the plea agreement and the court’s findings at sentencing.

Porter’s total term of 12 to 33 years reflects both the homicide conviction and the deadly-weapon component. The minimum controls when he may first be considered for parole, but eligibility does not guarantee release. The maximum establishes how long he can remain imprisoned under the sentence if parole is not granted earlier. The available reports did not specify how the judge divided the minimum and maximum terms between the murder count and the weapon enhancement.

Watley’s relatives addressed the court before the sentence was imposed. His sister, Jamillah Douthet, told the judge that Porter knew Watley was a good man and said the killing was not justified. She described the shooting as deliberate and said Watley did not deserve to die. Her remarks focused the hearing on the loss experienced by Watley’s family after a disagreement inside his home escalated into lethal violence.

The sentencing also marked a major change in the legal posture of the case. Porter entered the court process accused under a broad murder charge that could have led to litigation over the degree of the offense, his state of mind and his assertion that he felt threatened. By pleading guilty to second-degree murder, he accepted criminal responsibility for the killing while avoiding a trial on the original accusation.

No trial was held to test competing interpretations of the surveillance footage before a jury. The plea resolved the question of guilt, leaving the judge to determine punishment within the terms allowed by Nevada law and the agreement presented in court. Public reports did not indicate that Porter withdrew his earlier statement about fearing for his life, but the guilty plea established that the shooting amounted to second-degree murder rather than a legally justified use of force.

The case illustrates how digital evidence inside and around a residence can shape a homicide investigation. Officers arrived after the shooting and could document the physical scene, but the recording reportedly preserved the argument and Porter’s movements before the gunfire. Investigators relied on that sequence when assessing his explanation, and later reports repeatedly cited the footage when describing why police believed his conduct did not match an immediate defensive reaction.

Police have not released the complete investigative file, and the public record available through news reports does not answer every question about the household’s earlier interactions. It does not establish how long Porter, his mother and Watley had lived together, whether police had previously been called to the address or whether there had been earlier violent incidents among them. Those points should not be assumed from the dispute described in the arrest records.

What is established is that an attempt to keep Porter from driving after drinking led to an argument, that Porter armed himself and that Watley was shot after Porter stepped outside and returned. Porter’s admission to second-degree murder removed the need for prosecutors to prove the original open murder charge at trial. His sentence now places him in state custody with his first possible parole consideration after 12 years.

The criminal case has reached its sentencing stage, although routine post-conviction proceedings may still occur. No further hearing or appeal was identified in the sources reviewed. Porter’s release date will depend on credit calculations, future parole decisions and the administration of the judgment by Nevada correctional authorities.

Author note: Last updated Aug. 5, 2026.