On a December evening in 2020, a night out with friends at an entertainment venue in Columbia, Maryland, ended in tragedy for 20-year-old Anthony Patterson of Owings Mills. In the parking lot of the Mall in Columbia on December 4th, what began as a verbal altercation quickly escalated into a fatal shooting. The male victim was shot around 10:23 p.m.
in the parking area in front of the Main Event.
Initial investigations by the Howard County Police revealed that Patterson had a brief argument with a man later identified as Charles Thomas Busey, who was 29 at the time and from Washington, D.C. Shortly after the exchange of words, as Patterson and his friends were leaving in a vehicle, another individual, Angelo Deans, who was 17, opened fire on their car. Patterson was struck and killed. There was no indication that Patterson knew either Busey or Deans prior to the deadly encounter. After firing additional shots, Deans got into a vehicle driven by Busey, and the two fled the scene.
For months, the case remained under investigation as police reviewed surveillance footage and witness statements. Their efforts eventually led them to Washington, D.C., where both suspects were apprehended in April 2021. Deans, despite being a minor at the time of the incident, was charged as an adult with first and second-degree murder, assault, and other related charges. Busey faced charges of being an accessory after the fact to first and second-degree murder.
The legal process culminated in guilty pleas from both men. Charles Thomas Busey pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to second-degree murder and a firearm charge, receiving a sentence of 10 years in prison. Angelo Deans, the shooter, pleaded guilty to a murder charge and was scheduled for sentencing in November 2024.
