On a spring evening in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the life of 18-year-old Kendrick Love was tragically cut short. On May 16, 2017, Love was shot and killed at the Gateway Apartments, a place that would become the final chapter of his young life. He was a recent graduate, having attended both Siegel and Penn Foster schools, and was working in the food industry to build his future.
The investigation into the shooting uncovered a meeting between Love and three other individuals on that
fateful day. Among them were two 17-year-olds and one adult, Jeremy Noah Soto-Morales. As the details of the encounter emerged, it became clear that one of the teenagers, Taeshaun Keith Patterson, was the one who pulled the trigger. The motive, as revealed in the subsequent legal proceedings, was an attempted robbery that escalated into a fatal act of violence.
Taeshaun Keith Patterson, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was charged with first-degree murder and attempted aggravated robbery. His case moved through the justice system, culminating in a trial in February 2022. A Rutherford County jury found Patterson guilty of the murder of Kendrick Love. On February 25, 2022, he was sentenced to life in prison, ensuring he would be held accountable for his actions. Further sentencing on additional convictions took place in May of the same year. Patterson is now serving his sentence at the West Tennessee State Penitentiary, bringing a legal conclusion to a case that ended a promising young life far too soon.
