A 26 year old Akron man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for the 2023 murder of 34 year old Ernestine Stallings. In October, Jontae Watkins pled no contest to Stallings’ death. He was found guilty. In July of 2023, Stallings and her fiance’e, Tasha Love, visited the Dollar Tree on West Market Street in Akron. They left the store when Stallings was shot 6 times in the back and died. FLOCK cameras and store surveillance footage connected Watkins to the case. Prosecutors say Watkins confessed to the murder and said it was a case of misidentification.
Akron man sentenced for murder
Dec 19, 2025 | 7:11 AM