UPDATE 3/7/23 — Watson pleaded not guilty to his unlawful use of a weapon charge on Feb. 7. He is scheduled for a pre-trial conference at 9:30 a.m. on July 19 for both the sex crime and weapon case. He also had a jury trial scheduled for July 31 in the sex crime case.

Original story, published Nov. 15

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Springfield man was arrested on Nov. 13 after allegedly holding a gun to a woman’s head a month before the jury trial for his child molestation charge.

Tigger C Watson, 24, of Springfield was arrested and charged with a felony count of unlawful use of a weapon on Nov. 13. According to court documents, Watson got into an argument with the victim, his girlfriend, after she tried to move speakers.

The victim told police that he pushed her, and injured her neck. After she slapped him, Watson allegedly took a 9mm handgun and pointed it at her face. Watson’s sister came into the apartment and the argument ended. The victim allowed police to search her apartment and car, where police found the handgun she described.

His first court date for this case is Dec. 13: a counsel status hearing that comes a day after his four-day trial in a separate case is set to begin.

Watson has a jury trial that’s scheduled to start on Dec. 12 and last until Dec. 16. He is charged with two felonies: one count of statutory sodomy and one count of second-degree child molestation with a child less than 12 years old.

According to court documents for that case, a victim told police that Watson had sexually assaulted her twice in a Springfield home sometime between January 2019 and January 2020. The victim told police what happened in detail during those two events.

During an interview, Watson initially denied both incidents. Later, he backtracked and told police that during the night of the second incident, he drank “two bottles of alcohol” and then blacked out in the victim’s bedroom. He said when he woke, he knew something had happened, but he could not remember the details.

He was arrested for those charges in May 2020. He pleaded not guilty in Nov. 2020. He was granted bond and released from jail in March 2021.