KALAMAZOO, Mich. — All charges against Jordan Watts, the brother of Carlos Watts Jr., were dropped without prejudice in July, according to court documents obtained by News Channel 3 on Monday.
Watts, 31, was previously charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of children on August 10, 2023.
Specifically, Watts was charged on July 26, 2023, with sexual exploitation of a 16-year-old girl, a crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of more than $250,000, court records show.
A few weeks later, on August 10, 2023, he was charged with two more counts after allegedly engaging in sexual acts with a 17-year-old girl.
According to court documents, both recordings were allegedly taken with Watts’ iPhone.
In addition to the three counts, a charge of violating the Speedy Trial Act was dismissed as moot pursuant to an order of dismissal signed by the Honorable Judge Jane M. Beckering.
Jordan Watts’ brother, Carlos Watts Jr., is the boyfriend of Heather Kelley, a missing mother of eight from Kalamazoo County.
Kelley disappeared on December 10, 2022, after telling her children she was going to see Watts Jr. at the Park Club in Kalamazoo.
She would never return home again.
During the investigation into Kelley’s disappearance, detectives discovered that Carlos Watts Jr. had called his brother from the Newaygo County Jail.
During the phone call, Jordan Watts admitted to having sex with one of the victims, a 16-year-old girl, according to federal court documents.
He claimed the victim was 20 years old, but documents show he knew she was a minor by sending text messages between Jordan Watts and the victim.
Investigators obtained Jordan Watts’ cellphone on May 10, 2023, when the 31-year-old was arrested as a suspect in helping his brother after Kelley’s disappearance, investigators said.
According to the documents, investigators later found evidence of child pornography on the phone.
Kelley’s car was found burned near East Michigan Avenue and Sprinkle Road on December 11, 2022, one day after she was reported missing.
Her blood, hair and other signs of violence were also found in the car, Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller told News Channel 3.
Two days later, on Dec. 13, 2022, officers stopped Jordan Watts’ vehicle and found broken glass from a windshield and a screwdriver with glass stuck in the handle, court records show.
The diameter of the screwdriver matched the hole in the driver’s window of Kelley’s vehicle, court records show.
Carlos Watts Jr. has now been officially charged with manslaughter – open murder – in connection with Kelley’s disappearance.
He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary examination on September 9.
No charges have been filed against Jordan Watts in connection with Kelley’s disappearance.
