In the summer of 2018, the life of 19-year-old Bryce Patterson was tragically cut short in Anderson, Indiana. A recent graduate of Pendleton Heights High School, Patterson was known for his love of family, rap music, video games, and working on Volkswagens. On the evening of Saturday, August 18, 2018, what began as an act of helping a friend with a flat tire quickly devolved into a fatal encounter.
Patterson had gone to the 800 block of West 12th Street in Anderson, where he unwittingly
found himself in the midst of a drug deal. It was during this transaction that gunfire erupted. Patterson was shot in the head, and another individual was wounded. He was rushed to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, where he succumbed to his injuries the following day, August 19, 2018. The incident was described by authorities as a holdup gone wrong.
The Anderson Police Department swiftly launched an investigation, which led to the identification and arrest of two teenage suspects. Orlando Sutton, 19, and Michael Fleming, 18, were taken into custody in connection with the shooting. Both were charged with murder, attempted murder, and attempted robbery for their roles in the violent altercation that led to Patterson's death.
Following their arrests, the legal process began to unfold. Orlando Terrill Sutton was subsequently convicted of murder and attempted murder. He later appealed his eighty-five-year aggregate sentence, but the conviction was affirmed. The case highlighted a tragic convergence of circumstances where a young man, in the act of being a good friend, lost his life in a violent crime.
