Prosecutors say it started when Andrew Watson merged onto northbound I-5 from Highway 120, swerved lanes, got next to the Amazon truck and fired multiple shots.
LATHROP, Calif. — A Manteca man has been found guilty of killing an Amazon truck driver in a freeway shooting in June 2023.
According to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, a jury found Andrew Watson guilty of second-degree murder and shooting at an occupied vehicle.
The shooting happened just before 1 p.m. on June 15, 2023. Prosecutors say it started when Watson merged onto northbound I-5 from Highway 120.
Dash cam video shows him swerving, cutting into the slow lane and getting beside victim Ilkhom Shodiev’s truck.
Watson fired multiple shots and one hit Shodiev in the head. Shodiev’s truck went off the freeway and crashed into a building in Lathrop while Watson left the scene.
Prosecutors say bank and cell phone records confirmed he was at the scene at the time, along with gunshot residue in his vehicle.
“This senseless act of violence stole the life of a hardworking husband and father who was simply doing his job, leaving his family in profound grief,” said District Attorney Ron Freitas.
After the shooting, a close friend of Shodiev told ABC10 he was chasing the American dream and trying to support his family by being the sole breadwinner.
“He was a very smiley person, he liked to smile, and he liked to joke,” said friend Aziz Azami. “He was a man with principles… A man who had big plans for his family.”
Shodiev was originally from Tajikstan and met Azami in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The deadly shooting happened on Shodiev’s wedding anniversary. He had dreams of opening his own restaurant.
