Notorious ‘Western Bandit’ convicted in attack against inmate at North Kern State Prison

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The “Western Bandit” — a man convicted of two murders and multiple other crimes in the Los Angeles area over a three-year crime spree — was found guilty of attacking a fellow inmate at North Kern State Prison in Delano, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office said.

Patrick Watkins, 60, was convicted by a Kern County jury of multiple charges Thursday including assault by a prisoner serving a life sentence and assault with force likely to result in great bodily injury.

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Prosecutors said Watkins attacked an inmate with a makeshift weapon on the morning of Aug. 25, 2022. Watkins attacked the inmate in a neighboring cell just as officers opened Watkins’ and the victim’s cells simultaneously to receive medications.

Watkins then ran back into his cell and closed the door, prosecutors said. Investigating officers found the weapon in Watkins’ bunk next to his clothes. The victim was treated for multiple slash wounds, according to prosecutors.

Watkins was named the “Western Bandit” for a series of crimes near Western Avenue in the Los Angeles area including murder and robbery between 2011 and 2014. Watkins was convicted for the murders of two people, and additional shootings and robberies. He was linked to 23 crimes during that timeframe. Watkins was finally arrested in 2015 and convicted in 2021.

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Watkins is already serving a conviction of life without parole.

Watkins is scheduled to be sentenced for the North Kern State Prison attack on June 13. He faces an additional sentence of 27 years to life.

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