A Fort Worth tailgater shot a grandmother who flipped him off. Now he’s going to prison

A man who fired upon a 70-year-old driver in Fort Worth in 2020 and shot the grandmother of three in the head because she was traveling too slow and flipped him off has pleaded guilty to murder.

Jeffrey Watson, 37, is to be sentenced on Nov. 18 to 20 years in prison. He entered the plea in 297th District Court in Tarrant County on Friday.

Julia Gregor was alone, driving home early from a work shift that began overnight. Watson was with his cousin, headed to a job site.

In Watson’s view, Gregor’s Toyota Camry was moving too slow in the fast lane of West Loop 820, according to a Fort Worth police account.

With Watson’s vehicle behind hers, Gregor hit the brakes. He drove past, and she flipped him off.

Fueled by anger, Watson aimed his Glock handgun at Gregor’s car, intending for the rounds to hit its tires, he told detectives.

Instead, he shot her in the head.

Gregor was driving along the southbound lanes of West Loop 820, near Camp Bowie West Boulevard, when she was slain on April 1 , 2020, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Watson fired twice at Gregor’s vehicle but said he did not know if he had hit it, according to the affidavit.

After she was shot, Gregor’s car crashed into a guardrail. She died about 4 1/2 hours later at a hospital, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

Gregor had worked for about 15 years at XPO Logistics as a supervisor dealing with failed electronics, her husband has said. She usually worked from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. but left early on April 1 and headed to her Benbrook home.