Man sentenced for shooting Airbnb guest's friend in San Jose

(KRON) — A judge this week sentenced a retired engineer to serve 15 years in prison for shooting an unarmed college student who was crossing a San Jose street from an Airbnb.

The victim, a 21-year-old Black man, was visiting his friend's Airbnb in the Berryessa neighborhood on Oct. 2, 2022. When he left the Airbnb to go buy a snack, the victim saw a stranger pointing a gun at him.

Mark Henry Waters, 68, shot the fleeing man, shattering his femur in several places, prosecutors said. As the victim fled, Waters yelled, “So you think you can run?” according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

A security video showed Waters pursuing the victim, pointing the gun, and shooting him in the street as he fled, back turned, SCCDAO said.

Waters, who is white, claimed in court that the gun went off accidentally. On March 7, a jury convicted Waters of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and other allegations.

At his sentencing hearing this week, Waters demanded that the judge sentence him to probation without prison time. The judge disagreed, and handed down a 15-year prison sentence.

“This is a sensible verdict for a senseless crime,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.

“Gun violence in our community will be met with the severest criminal consequences. While this victim will not be healed by his attacker getting more than a decade in prison, we hope this serious sentence gives him and this county a sense of justice and relief that a dangerous person is off our streets."

The victim spent a week in the hospital and a month in a physical rehabilitation center recovering from his injuries. To this day, the victim has difficulty walking.

Both of the victim’s parents are athletes and running was a big part of his life. The victim told the judge that, because of the shooting, he can no longer run.

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