PHOENIX — An Arizona commission will soon hold a hearing to determine whether a justice of the peace committed misconduct for using profanity and making violent threats against a citizen.
Pima County Justice of Peace Adam Watters is expected to have his actions reviewed by the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct in September after he allegedly used profane language on two separate occasions.
The incidents are connected to a stalking incident involving Watters and a Tucson landlord named Fei Qin.
Watters had presided over an eviction case involving Qin and the justice accused the landlord of harassing him.
Last February, Watters allegedly confronted Qin and fired a gun at him as Qin was driving by Watters' home in Pima County. The bullet did not strike him.
Watters allegedly recorded part of the interaction and the video was published by the Arizona Daily Star last year.
"I'm going to blow your [expletive] head right off," Watters can be allegedly heard saying in the video.
The Pinal County Attorney's Office declined to pursue criminal charges against Watters due to the unlikelihood of getting a conviction, according to the Daily Star. Qin was prosecuted and convicted of stalking, Pima County court records show. He's currently serving a 1.5-year sentence in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
The judicial commission will now review the matter and determine whether it needs to take action against Watters. Commissioners will additionally review evidence suggesting Watters used profanity when he was served with a subpoena to testify during the Qin investigation.
After holding a hearing on the justice's case, the commission will determine whether it should sanction Watters by censuring, suspending, or removing him from office.
Any sanction brought against Watters would still have to be reviewed and approved by the Arizona Supreme Court.
Watters was elected in 2018 and his first term as a Pima County justice expires at the end of 2022.
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