‘Western Bandit’ suspect arrested in two slayings, string of shootings and robberies, LAPD says

For years, the man detectives dubbed the “Western Bandit” eluded police.

He struck at night or early in the morning, approaching his victims on foot or by bicycle as they stood near cars. Without warning, he opened fire, then fled with anything he could find: cash, wallets, cellphones.

Two victims were killed. Six others were wounded. In all, police said, the bandit was linked to 23 robberies and assaults from November 2011 to December 2014.

Months would pass between attacks, prompting detectives to question whether he was in custody, had died or moved away.

The LAPD’s elite Robbery-Homicide Division took over the investigation about a year ago and combed through piles of evidence, looking for a break in the case. At some point, police said, investigators unearthed a piece of evidence that could be tested for DNA.

Police announced Monday that the DNA came back with a hit, linking the investigation to a man who was arrested and convicted of robbery in the 1990s: Patrick Watkins, 51, of South L.A.

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Last week, police said, SWAT officers moved in on the two-story apartment complex where Watkins lived. Nearly four years after the crimes began, the man police believe to be the Western Bandit was in custody.

“In some ways, just calling him a bandit doesn’t begin to capture the fear and the actions of this man, who is a coldblooded killer, somebody who terrorized the streets of Los Angeles for far too long,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “He will be brought to justice.”

Watkins was charged Monday with 53 felony counts, including murder and attempted murder, the district attorney’s office said. A 28-page criminal complaint outlines Watkins’ criminal history, which includes several robbery and firearm convictions dating from 1989.

Prosecutors said they would decide later whether to seek the death penalty.

Police offered new details about their four-year investigation at a news conference Monday, describing Watkins as a violent criminal who seemingly chose his victims — 35 in all — at random.

Capt. Billy Hayes, who heads the Robbery-Homicide Division, said detectives initially linked the crimes based on the circumstances of the attacks and the ballistics of the handgun used. That handgun, police said, was recovered when Watkins was arrested. Hayes declined to say what piece of evidence was used to connect the offenses to Watkins.

The crimes began in mid-November 2011, with an assault on Western Avenue in Koreatown, the LAPD said. It was the first of five crimes over a three-day span. Three people were shot — including Cassidy Vickers, 32, who was killed on a street in Hollywood.

Over the years, police pleaded for the public’s assistance in capturing the man responsible for the violence, releasing sketches of a suspect and asking for help in identifying him.

The final crime police linked to the assailant occurred Dec. 8, when Larise Smith, 56, was fatally shot while walking his dog in Leimert Park.

Detectives have looked at other cases — including outside Los Angeles — to see whether Watkins was involved, but they haven’t tied him to anything beyond the Dec. 8 killing.

“I don’t know his rationale for not committing any crimes since then, but there’s been nothing forensically or witness-wise that we can connect him to,” Hayes said.

Hayes said Watkins lived alone and was standing at his window when SWAT officers approached his apartment early Thursday morning. When Watkins saw the officers move in, the captain said, he surrendered.

“I appreciate the fact that they did stay on the job and they were able to pursue the guy and catch the guy,” said Kenneth Thompson, Vickers’ stepfather. “You can’t do that stuff forever and just keep getting away with it.”

Watkins’ neighbors in the apartment complex said Monday they were baffled by the news. They described the man who lived in Unit No. 5 as a generous neighbor who gave drum lessons to children in the complex, lifted heavy furniture for those who couldn’t and handed out food and fruit he brought back from events where he played music.

Ingrid Caston, 51, said she and Watkins would lead other tenants in impromptu jam sessions — Caston singing and Watkins playing either bass or drums. Caston said it was hard for her to believe the allegations against the neighbor who often shampooed the carpets in her home.

“It hasn’t even hit me,” she said. “I’m just hoping that it’s not him and that it’s a mistake.”

Neighbors said music could often be heard from Watkins’ apartment, a first-floor unit nestled at the back of the 11th Avenue complex. He spent many evenings sitting on a staircase, talking with his neighbors, and typically traveled by bicycle.

“The bad things that I keep hearing, I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it until somebody shows me something different,” said Julia Walton, the longtime manager of the complex. “He didn’t show that side to us.”

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