GREENBELT, Md. — A 24-year-old Hanover man has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars for using a ghost gun to shoot at U.S. Secret Service Security guards.
On February 25, 2021, prosecutors said Jeremiah Peter Watson drove to the entrance of a United States Secret Service facility, and used his vehicle to to block the driveway so others couldn't pass through. When told by a security guard to move, he refused.
A second security guard approached and said he would be arrested if he didn't move.
Watson then grabbed one guard's gun. The second used pepper spray on Watson, who then drove away.
The guards made note of Watson's distinctive colored cell phone case and license plate number. As the guards began to re-enter the building, they saw Watson's vehicle return and saw flashes of gunshots coming towards them. Watson fired another four shots before he did another U-turn and drove away.
Law enforcement linked the vehicle to Watson's address in Hanover, Maryland later that night. Officers executed a search warrant on February 26, 2021 and found ammunition and a handgun without a serial number, also known as a "ghost gun."
Forensic evidence linked the bullets at his residence with those found at the Secret Service building.
All of the victims were acting in the course of their duties as federal officers when Watson fired at them.
