Michael Patton | Homicide Watch Chicagohttp://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/michael-patton/Latest news about Michael Pattonen-usThu, 10 Jul 2014 13:07:19 -0500Friend: Slain teen Michael Patton 'wouldn't want us crying'http://homicides.suntimes.com/2014/07/10/friend-slain-teen-michael-patton-wouldnt-want-us-crying/<img src="http://wordpress.homicidewatch.org/chicago/files/2014/07/MichaelPatton.jpg" alt="Michael Patton / Photo from Facebook" width="225" height="300" class="size-full wp-image-7016" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Michael Patton / Photo from Facebook</p> <p>BY KALEY FOWLER<br /> Homicide Watch Chicago</p> <p>Michael "Yung Stacks" Patton decided in junior high that he wanted to be a rapper and devoted his life to music.</p> <p>Michael, 17, was fatally shot <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/2014/07/01/he-was-motionless-with-his-big-eyes-staring-up-into-the-rain/">about 10:40 p.m. June 30 in the 600 block of East 50th Place</a>, authorities said.</p> <p>Michael recently graduated from Bolingbrook High School, according to friends who are not being named because they are juveniles. Michael lived in southwest suburban Bolingbrook, but began making frequent trips to the city to stay with friends and family after his mother died this year.</p> <p>“Rapping was his dream, and he sure had something special in him," a friend said. "He spilled his heart out in his music, rapping about his life and his struggles. He was planning to move back to the suburbs to work on his music.”<br /> <span id="more-7005"></span><br /> <iframe src="http://homicides.suntimes.com/api/v1/homicides/624.html" width="100%" height="350" frameborder=0></iframe></p> <p>Authorities said Michael and a 15-year-old boy were in the Grand Boulevard neighborhood when a van approached. Somebody inside demanded money and a struggle ensued that ended with both teens shot, according to police, which described the incident as drug related.</p> <p>“He wanted to be a good person, but he got caught up in trying to survive on his own,” a friend said. “He didn't have a whole lot of people, only a few who really cared about him.”</p> <p>Patton's friends said he was especially close with his three sisters and said he would do anything for his friends and family.</p> <p>“Not too long ago, Mike posted a photo of him and his littlest sister with a caption that said, 'Me and the little princess,'" a friend said. "It was real sweet."</p> <p>Patton had a great sense of humor and an ability to make anyone laugh, according to his friends.</p> <p>“He was always crackin' jokes,” a friend said. “In school he didn't care about getting in trouble, just having fun.”</p> <p>Michael's friends said he will be greatly missed, and all of them acknowledged that Michael wouldn't want them to dwell on his death.</p> <p>“If he was here right now he wouldn't want us crying,” a friend said. “He wouldn't like that.”</p> <p>Nobody has been charged for the murder. Area Central detectives are investigating.</p> Michael LansuThu, 10 Jul 2014 13:07:19 -0500http://homicides.suntimes.com/2014/07/10/friend-slain-teen-michael-patton-wouldnt-want-us-crying/Michael PattonWEEK IN REVIEW: 14 shot to death throughout Chicagohttp://homicides.suntimes.com/2014/07/07/week-in-review-14-shot-to-death-throughout-chicago/<p>BY MICHAEL LANSU<br /> Homicide Watch Chicago Editor</p> <p>Fourteen people were shot to death last week throughout Chicago.</p> <p>Nine of the murders happened during the three-day holiday weekend, when at least 60 other people shot and wounded. Additionally, man and woman were fatally shot early Monday. Their identifies have not yet been released.</p> <p>On Sunday, 23-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/schiquille-salter/">Schiquille Salter</a> was shot several times in the chest while standing on a corner in the 300 block of West 116th Street about 9 p.m., authorities said.<br /> <span id="more-6916"></span><br /> Salter, who lived on the block, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died at 9:54 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.</p> <p>In Austin, 21-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/donald-ray/">Donald Ray</a> was sitting in a car with another man in the 5200 block of West Lake Street when someone walked up and opened fire about 5:40 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.</p> <p>Ray, of the 2000 block of West Adams Street, was struck in the head and died at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park less than an hour later, authorities said. The other man, 19, was wounded but survived.</p> <p>In Uptown, 19-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/kezon-lamb/">Kezon Lamb</a> and a woman were sitting in a vehicle in the 4400 block of North Malden Street when a gunman walked up and opened fire about 12:20 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.</p> <p>Lamb, of the 4100 block of West 127th Street in Alsip, was struck in the back and died at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center less than an hour later, authorities said.</p> <p>On Saturday, 25-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/anthony-hobson/">Anthony Hobson</a> was riding a bicycle in the 10400 block of South Normal Avenue in Roseland when a silver car drove past and someone inside opened fire about 11:35 p.m., authorities said.</p> <p>Hobson, of the 10500 block of South Normal Avenue, was struck in the head and shoulder and died at Roseland Community Hospital less than an hour later, authorities said.</p> <p>In West Englewood, police found 18-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/shaquille-ross/">Shaquille Ross</a> shot multiple times in the street in the 6500 block of South Seeley Avenue about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.</p> <p>Ross, of the 200 block of West 95th Street, died at Christ Medical Center about four hours later, according to the medical examiner’s office.</p> <p>In the South Chicago neighborhood, 23-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/deandre-brown/">Deandre Brown</a> was in the 8700 block of South Houston Avenue when he was shot in the abdomen and leg about 10:20 a.m. Saturday, authorities said.</p> <p>Brown, of the 9000 block of South Mackinaw Avenue, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital just over an hour later, according to the medical examiner’s office.</p> <p>In the Clearing neighborhood, 30-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/joel-bentley/">Joel Bentley</a> was in the parking lot on the southwest corner of West 63rd Street and South Austin Avenue when he was shot in the abdomen just before 1 a.m. Saturday, authorities said.</p> <p>Bentley, 30, of the 5000 block of South Keating Avenue, died at Christ Medical Center at 5:46 a.m. Saturday, according to the medical examiner’s office.</p> <p>On Friday, 34-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/corey-hudson/">Corey Hudson</a> and 35-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/robert-cotten/">Robert Cotten</a> were standing outside in the 2000 block of West 63rd Street when a black vehicle pulled up and someone inside shot both men about 2:35 a.m., authorities said.</p> <p>Hudson, of the 6000 block of South Bell Avenue, died at the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office.</p> <p>Cotten, of the 9600 block of South Mozart Street in Evergreen Park, died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County at 4:47 a.m. Sunday, according to the medical examiner’s office.</p> <p>On Thursday, 21-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/shambreyh-barfield/">Shambreyh Barfield</a> and another woman were shot in the 3800 block of West Monroe Street about 4:15 p.m., authorities said.</p> <p>Barfield, of the 6900 block of South Winchester Avenue, was shot in the head and died at Mount Sinai Hospital less than an hour later, according to the medical examiner’s office. The other woman, 21, was shot in the arm and survived, police said.</p> <p>On Wednesday, prosecutors claim <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/suspects/randy-ruiz/">Randy "Garfield" Ruiz</a>, <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/suspects/jeremy-medina/">Jeremy Medina</a> and three others fatally shot 19-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/jimero-starling/">Jimero Starling</a> in the 3300 block of West Division Street in the Humboldt Park neighborhood about 6:30 a.m., authorities said.</p> <p>Starling and his pals were riding their bicycles when the group started shouting gang slogans and questioned them about their gang affiliation, prosecutors said. Starling tried explaining that he was a Latin King as well, but a fight ensued and Ruiz allegedly shot him, prosecutors said.</p> <p>In West Englewood, 19-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/dakari-pargo/">Dakari Pargo</a> shot in the head and back in the 7100 block of South Winchester Avenue about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said.</p> <p>Pargo, of the 7300 block of South Damen Avenue, died less than an hour later at Christ Medical Center, according to the medical examiner’s office.</p> <p>On Tuesday, 16-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/lafayette-walton/">Lafayette Walton</a> was shot in the 1200 block of North Keeler Avenue at 5:18 p.m., authorities said. Lafayette, of the 2400 block of West Grenshaw Street, died at Mount Sinai Hospital at 6:52 p.m. Wednesday, according to the medical examiner’s office.</p> <p>The killings started last Monday when 17-year-old <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/michael-patton/">Michael Patton</a> was shot in the chest in the 600 block of East 50th Place about 10:40 p.m., authorities said. Michael and a 15-year-old acquaintance were talking with several people in a van when somebody inside opened fire.</p> <p>Michael, of the 600 block of East 51st Street, died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The 15-year-old was shot in the arm and treated at University of Chicago Comer's Children's Hospital, police said.</p> <p>Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 203 Chicago deaths in 2014 a homicide — including nine people killed by police.</p> <p>Additionally, the state’s attorney’s office filed first-degree murder charges <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/2014/03/16/10-million-bond-for-woman-charged-with-murder-in-crash-that-killed-off-duty-cop/">against a speeding motorist who killed an off-duty police officer</a> while trying to flee police even though the autopsy ruled the death an accident.</p> <p>Chicago Police, <a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/2013/12/30/homicides-why-do-chicago-police-and-the-medical-examiners-office-report-different-totals/">which counts murders different</a>, have ruled some of those homicides as involuntary manslaughter, justified self-defense or accidents.</p> Michael LansuMon, 07 Jul 2014 10:42:18 -0500http://homicides.suntimes.com/2014/07/07/week-in-review-14-shot-to-death-throughout-chicago/Shambreyh BarfieldJoel BentleyDeandre BrownRobert CottenAnthony HobsonCorey HudsonKezon LambDakari PargoMichael PattonDonald RayShaquille RossSchiquille SalterJimero StarlingLafayette WaltonJeremy MedinaRandy Ruiz"He was motionless with his big eyes staring up into the rain"http://homicides.suntimes.com/2014/07/01/he-was-motionless-with-his-big-eyes-staring-up-into-the-rain/<p><img src="http://wordpress.homicidewatch.org/chicago/files/2014/07/WitnessSub-500x333.jpg" alt="Scene where Michael Patton was fatally shot / Photo by Vincent D. Johnson" width="100%" height="auto" class="size-large wp-image-6831" /><br /> Scene where Michael Patton was fatally shot / Photo by Vincent D. Johnson</p> <p>BY VINCENT D. JOHNSON<br /> For the Chicago Sun-Times</p> <p>At my son's fifth birthday party on Sunday, a friend asked me if my block was noisy.</p> <p>I replied as I always do: “No. It’s a quiet, tree lined, one-way street”.</p> <p>But Monday night was different.</p> <p>I found myself barefoot, ankle deep in water, holding the hand of a 17-year-old boy who had been shot during the downpour. I told him to hang in there and that the ambulance was on the way.</p> <p>I don’t know the exact time, but the thunder and lightning were constant, the rain was coming down in buckets and the wind was blowing hard.<br /> <span id="more-6826"></span><br /> I had been watching the storm through an open second-floor window that faces south onto 50th Place. Shortly after I went to the basement to check my 116-year-old house for flooding, I heard three loud cracks.</p> <p>When I looked out the window, I saw a teenage boy running through the yard across the street yelling for help. I couldn’t see what happened from the window, but I assumed that a large tree branch had fallen on a car, possibly trapping someone inside.</p> <p>I ran downstairs, opened the front door and saw what I thought was a man laying face up in the gutter of the partially flooded street.</p> <p>I ran upstairs to tell my wife to call 911, which she was already doing. Then we both grabbed our raincoats and a flashlight.</p> <p>Two other teenagers were near the man, who was lying motionless in the gutter when we went outside to help. One boy stood quiet and motionless; the other paced back and forth saying, “They shot my brother.”</p> <p>Then he picked up some of his brother’s belongings from the street, as if he didn’t know what else to do.</p> <p>I leaned over the wounded teen and checked his left wrist for a pulse but felt nothing. Then I pressed my fingers against his neck, but before I could find a pulse, his entire body twitched and gasped for air.</p> <p>I now knew he was still alive, but I didn’t know what to do to help.</p> <p>It was dark, there was water everywhere and a nearby street lamp and my flashlight were the only lights around. My wife came out with a towel to stop any bleeding, but the rain and the dark pool of water made it impossible to find the wound.</p> <p>I unzipped his fleece jacket, which revealed bare skin and a bullet wound in his right chest. There was no blood coming out, just white tissue that made the wound look like a belly button.</p> <p>A few neighbors came outside, and that’s when I noticed a gun on the curb just feet from the boy. I told a neighbor to stand over the gun and make sure nobody picked it up.</p> <p>I wasn’t sure who did the shooting, but I knew that emotions were high, and I didn’t want to provide an opportunity for a second attack while I was around.</p> <p>I mostly stayed close by the wounded teen as he lay on his back, arms spread, knees bent like Jesus on an invisible cross. He wasn’t gasping for air much anymore, and my wife, who has a medical background, went into the house to search for a respiratory mask.</p> <p>I waited outside holding his hand, occasionally looking up to check for an ambulance or the police.</p> <p>The crowd gathered around was starting to wonder aloud, “Where is the ambulance?”</p> <p>“Where are the police?”</p> <p>A few cars drove past, and the occupants rolled down the windows and gasped. </p> <p>It felt like forever, but I knew it had probably been less than five minutes since we called 911.</p> <p>I looked back down at the teen and grab his hand again. I don’t remember if I said anything else to him, but I know I patted him on the back of the hand as I looked toward his face.<img src="http://wordpress.homicidewatch.org/chicago/files/2014/07/witness2-200x300.jpg" alt="Photo by Vincent D. Johnson / For Sun-Times Media" width="200" height="300" class="size-medium wp-image-6829" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Photo by Vincent D. Johnson / For Sun-Times Media</p></p> <p>His big brown eyes remained wide open as if he was afraid to close them as he looked up into the tree branches.</p> <p>I stood up and looked down the block, hoping for an ambulance. When I saw a police SUV about a block away I waved my flashlight up and down.</p> <p>The SUV’s spotlight shone down the block through a light rain as they approached. I looked back at the teen and hoped he’d pull through, although I knew just by looking at him that he was no longer alive.</p> <p>He was motionless with his big eyes staring up into the rain.</p> <p>As a professional photographer and photojournalist, I am used to being ready to document news at the drop of a hat. I’ve been to a few crime scenes over the years, and even put myself at risk to photograph a fire in the apartment next door.</p> <p>When I first walked out the door, a part of me thought about going back inside and getting my camera. But I remembered what a great teacher once told me, “You’re a human first and a photojournalist second.”</p> <p>I wrestled with the idea of taking photos right after police and paramedics arrived, but I it didn’t feel right. It wasn’t until the police tape was set and a blanket placed over the teen that the scene began to look like the crime scenes I was used to.</p> <p>Except this time I had a vantage point from my front door.</p> <p>I could say I took a few photos because that is what I do, but really I took them because I needed to be able to put a lens between me and the reality at all of our front doors.</p> Michael LansuTue, 01 Jul 2014 22:00:58 -0500http://homicides.suntimes.com/2014/07/01/he-was-motionless-with-his-big-eyes-staring-up-into-the-rain/Michael PattonMichael Patton, 17, fatally shot in Grand Boulevardhttp://homicides.suntimes.com/2014/07/01/michael-patton-17-fatally-shot-in-grand-boulevard/<p><img src="http://wordpress.homicidewatch.org/chicago/files/2014/07/50th2-500x333.jpg" alt="Scene where Michael Patton was fatally shot / Photo by Alex Wroblewski" width="100%" height="auto" class="size-large wp-image-6807" /><br /> Scene where Michael Patton was fatally shot / Photo by Alex Wroblewski</p> <p><a href="http://homicides.suntimes.com/victims/michael-patton/">Michael Patton</a> was was killed in a Monday night shooting in the Grand Boulevard neighborhood that left another left another teenager wounded.</p> <p>Michael, 17, and a 15-year-old acquaintance were talking to several people in a black van in the 600 block of East 50th Place when somebody inside the van opened fire about 10:40 p.m. Monday, authorities said.<br /> <span id="more-6813"></span><br /> <iframe src="http://homicides.suntimes.com/api/v1/homicides/624.html" width="100%" height="350" frameborder=0></iframe></p> <p>Michael was shot in the chest and the 15-year-old was struck in the upper right arm, authorities said.</p> <p>Michael, of the 600 block of East 51st Street, died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy confirmed he died of multiple gunshot wounds.</p> <p>The 15-year-old boy was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, police said.</p> <p>Nobody has been charged for the murder.</p> <p>Area Central detectives are investigating.</p> <p>-- Sun-Times Media Wire</p> Michael LansuTue, 01 Jul 2014 14:10:01 -0500http://homicides.suntimes.com/2014/07/01/michael-patton-17-fatally-shot-in-grand-boulevard/Michael Patton