An ex-con who killed two people and shot at numerous others on or near Western Avenue in Los Angeles in attacks attributed to the so-called “Western Bandit” over a three-year period was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, with some victims and their families clapping as the term was handed down.
Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke — who noted that the crimes involved “great violence” — also tacked on an additional term of 1,440 years to life for Patrick Watkins, 57, who was convicted Nov. 19 of first-degree murder for the Nov. 17, 2011, shooting death of Nathan “Cassidy” Vickers, a 32-year-old transgender woman near Lexington Avenue and Gower Street, and the Dec. 8, 2014, shooting death of a 56-year-old man named Larise Smith in the 2800 block of West 42nd Street.
Jurors found true the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders.
Watkins was also found guilty of 46 other counts, including attempted murder, assault with a firearm, shooting at an occupied dwelling or vehicle, robbery, attempted robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon.
The defendant hurled an expletive at one of the victims, Frances Aguilar, as she spoke in court, with the judge telling Watkins the victims and their relatives were entitled to make victim impact statements. Watkins directed another expletive toward the victims’ family members as he was led out of the courtroom after the sentencing.
“I want to protect other people from him …,” said Rachel Saltzman, who was left with a bullet in her body after being shot June 2, 2014. “He took people’s lives and the fact is he could have taken mine.”
She told the judge the defendant has “no remorse” for the lives he’s impacted and deserves the “maximum punishment.”
Miriam Gonzalez, who was shot in front of her husband and 10-year-old son outside their home in October 2013, said the defendant “put us through hell.”
In a statement read in court on her behalf, Daphne Goins called Watkins’ crimes “unconscionable acts of violence” and said he fatally shot her neighbor, Smith, right in front of her.
“You are an evil psychopath,” she said, directly addressing the defendant in her statement.
Smith’s daughter, Tisha Gore, said the sentencing date marked the seventh anniversary of her father’s death, and called Watkins an “evil person” who had no right to take her father’s life.
One of Smith’s cousins, Yolanda Norris, said he had offered to host family members at his house for Thanksgiving — something relatives will never experience now.
“He has changed so many lives …,” she said of the defendant. “They’ll never be the same.”
Themba Coats, who described Vickers as her best friend, told the defendant he had killed two people and that she had lost track of how many people he “terrorized.”
“None of these people deserved it,” she said.
The judge noted that Watkins’ crimes were “extremely dangerous,” and targeted people who were doing things including walking a dog, walking home from work, returning home from dinner, sitting in a car, driving an ice cream truck and barbecuing.
Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman told jurors in her closing argument last month that an “entire path of destruction … lays at this defendant’s feet.”
The most important piece of evidence in the case — a .32-caliber semi-automatic pistol that firearms analysis subsequently showed had been used in the crime spree — was discovered inside a shoebox in Watkins’ Los Angeles apartment during an October 2015 search, and the defendant acknowledged it was his gun and that he had never allowed anyone to borrow it, the prosecutor said.
Watkins’ attorney, Curt Leftwich, countered that “it is clear that they (the prosecution) have not met their burden” and cited “clear weaknesses in the prosecution’s case.”
The defense lawyer questioned the reliability of eyewitness accounts identifying Watkins, saying some had identified others in photo lineups showing six people and subsequently identified Watkins only after seeing him in court.
“Does that support anything at all other than that kind of testimony can’t be trusted?” Leftwich told jurors.
The defense lawyer told jurors that “the prosecution’s theory fails,” arguing that they “cannot establish … that Mr. Watkins was the person involved in these events.”
He urged the panel to acquit his client “of each and every charge.”
In her rebuttal argument, Deputy District Attorney Tannaz Mokayef told jurors that Watkins rode his bicycle and every pedal stroke constituted premeditation and deliberation as he sought out his victims under the cover of darkness.
“He took the gun with him to wherever he was going to go to hunt for his victims,” Mokayef said. “It’s nothing but hunting to kill.”
Some of the victims were robbed, while others were not.
Mokayef noted that Watkins said while being driven to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division headquarters that his favorite song was AC/DC’s “Back in Black” — which she played for the jury and which has lyrics including, “Number one with a bullet,” “Nobody’s gonna get me on another rap” and “Don’t try to push your luck. Just get out of my way.”
“In some ways, just calling him a bandit doesn’t begin to capture the fear and the actions of this man,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said after Watkins’ arrest.
“He’s a cold-blooded killer, somebody who terrorized the streets of Los Angeles for too long,” Garcetti said. “But with this arrest, the streets of Los Angeles become a little bit safer for all of us.”
Then-LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said DNA evidence helped lead investigators to Watkins, who has remained behind bars since his Oct. 29, 2015, arrest.