Two weeks later, and two blocks away, three more people, including a 14-year-old boy, were shot at Broadway and Wilson, near the currency exchange.
Both shooting incidents were classified as gang-related, although not all the victims were in gangs.
By September, a man was in custody for the Broadway/Wilson shooting, and by November he was charged with both incidents. His name is Kelsky Patterson, and he was 21 years old at the time. He was immediately noteworthy not only for being a one-man crime wave, but also for the AK-47 tattooed on his forehead.
His case has been winding its way through the court system. Today we heard from a 19th District Court Advocate about what happened:
"Today was Kelsky Patterson's sentencing. It was a surprise to have his case wrap this quickly. He was on trial for murder and aggravated assault. He asked for a jury trial. The jury was selected Monday and opening statements were read. Today everyone was back in court.
Last night he asked for a plea bargain. His attorney and State's Attorney Joy Repella of the Community Justice Center worked out 20 years for the murder. It was accepted by Judge Linn. There is no 'good time' available in a murder plea. He must serve all 20 years in prison.
Then the second case was heard by Judge Stephenson. She gave him 9.5 years for Aggravated Assault. He must serve at least 85% of that sentence. It is unusual in that his sentencing will run consecutively, not concurrently.
He will serve a minimum of 28 years for his actions during that two-week period in 2013. He has been in jail with no bond from the time he was 21. He will serve more time in prison for his crimes than he has been alive.
After he gets out around 2041, he will be on supervision for three years.
It was an emotional case. Relatives of the victims were at every hearing and court date since it all started back in 2013. The State's Attorney's Office told us they were very pleased with the verdict.
Official sentencing will take place later this month. Both judges approved the plea bargain today.
No gang members were in court to support Kelsky Patterson. He threw away his life -- and others' lives -- for them, but he'll serve his sentence alone."
Come on. None of his gang brethren were there? They support him on Facebook. Why I bet none of them even put any money in his jail commissary fund.
ReplyDeleteThe friggin ingrates.
Free Kelsky! I've been in Uptown longer than he'll likely serve in jail. Decent chance I'll be here to welcome him home.
Sayonara, sucker.
Good
ReplyDeleteStfu he didn’t know what tf he was doing but now he’s better like stfu
DeleteCan you elaborate?
DeleteMaybe in those 28 years He'll go back, get his GED and learn to "think critically."
ReplyDeleteHe took my baby brothers life... 28 years doesn't make up for that!! RIP DARIUS
ReplyDeleteA back story on this that I never said much about..... after 5 people were shot on the property of Uptown Baptist Church, and with all the active drug trading on the 1100 block of Wilson, I convinced the business owner of the Currency Exchange on the SE corner of Broadway and Wilson to put up a camera on their building located on the Wilson side of the street. The camera was up less than 24 hours when Kelsky Patterson made the decision to shoot a teenager directly under the new camera. The camera captured the tattoo on his forehead of an AK-47, which made it easy for police detectives to identify him. We know given this man's behavior, getting him off the streets saved the lives of other Chicagoans. Thank God he's locked up!!!!
ReplyDeleteCameras are a good thing. UIC cops tracked down the man charged with strangling the young female student because of a large number of cameras that caught him before and after the attack.
ReplyDeleteCamera quality is way up and pricing continually drops. It's a good tool to apprehend criminals.