Porterville man sentenced to life in prison for murder of Tulare teen

A Porterville man was given a life sentence Tuesday for the murder of a Tulare teen.

Dale Watson, 55, was sentenced to 43-years-to-life in prison for the murder of 18-year-old Dynasty Alexander, according to the Office of the District Attorney in Tulare County.

The incident occurred on the morning of March 3, 2019, when Watson picked up the victim outside an apartment complex in Tulare. Security footage from the complex recorded Watson’s truck leave with Alexander,

Just after 5 p.m. the same day, officers were called out to the discovery of Alexander’s body near an orchard on a dirt driveway at the 19700 block of Hosfield Drive south of Elk Bayou Park. Alexander had a gunshot wound to the upper torso.

Deputies arrested Watson two days later using the security footage to identify him. He was convicted on April 22, 2021, for second-degree murder with the special allegations of intentional discharge of a firearm causing death, being a felon in possession of a firearm and felon in possession of ammunition.

Watson already had a prior felony conviction for vandalism in 2018.