On June 4, 2021, Dakota Paul Lewis Watkins, a 21-year-old male from Lucasville, Ohio, tragically lost his life. Watkins was born on November 27, 1999, and was the son of Paul Watkins and Tara McCleese Watkins. He was a young man with his whole life ahead of him, but his life was cut short due to a violent incident.
The incident occurred at around 7:46 PM when the Scioto County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from 186 Sedan Crabtree Road in Lucasville. The caller, later identified as Samuel Ray Altman, age 40, admitted to shooting someone and then leaving the scene in a vehicle. A second 911 call came in from a female who was transporting the shooting victim to the hospital. The victim, Dakota Paul Lewis Watkins, was taken to Southern Ohio Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Following the incident, detectives conducted an investigation and determined that a verbal altercation had taken place outside the residence, which led to Watkins being shot once. Samuel Ray Altman was arrested and charged with one count of murder, a felony of the first degree. Altman was held on a $100,000 bond and appeared in Portsmouth Municipal Court on June 7, 2021. The case was still ongoing, and there was a possibility of additional charges being filed.
The tragic death of Dakota Paul Lewis Watkins has left a void in the lives of his family and friends. The community continues to seek justice for the young man, and the legal proceedings against Samuel Ray Altman are ongoing. The case serves as a stark reminder of the devastating impact of violence and the importance of seeking peaceful resolutions to conflicts.
