Nightclub Shooter Sentenced to Thirty Years in Prison

Convicted felon and known drug dealer Marquail Anthony Patterson, 36, was sentenced today to serve thirty years in prison at one hundred percent for multiple convictions following a five-day trial in July prosecuted by DA Charme Allen’s Career Gang Unit. Patterson, a native of Detroit, Michigan, was convicted of Second Degree Murder, five counts of Attempted Reckless Endangerment, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon. Judge Bob McGee imposed the sentence in a sentencing order handed down today.

In the July trial, Assistant District Attorney TaKisha Fitzgerald explained to the jury that around 3:00 A.M. on the morning of June 26, 2014, Patterson fired eight rounds from a Glock .40 caliber pistol into the victim, Adarius Boatwright, on a crowded patio at Studio X, a nightclub at 1921 Cumberland Avenue. Some of those same bullets also struck four other bystanders who survived the shooting. After the shooting, Patterson fled the scene but was quickly apprehended by Knoxville Police Department officers. Upon questioning, Patterson told KPD Investigator A.J. Loeffler that he did not know anything about the shooting that occurred at Studio X. The shooting was captured on the nightclub’s video surveillance system. At trial, Patterson claimed he shot Boatwright in self-defense. After cross-examination by Fitzgerald and the State’s rebuttal proof, the jury discredited the self-defense claim and convicted Patterson.

“Dangerous felons who have no regard for human life need to be sent to prison for as long as possible,” said DA Allen.”My Office successfully argued for and obtained a sentence that will keep our community safe from Patterson for a long time.”

If you have any questions, please contact Sean McDermott at 865-215-2515 or Sean.McDermott@knoxcounty.org. For more information about the District Attorney’s Office, visit our website at dag.knoxcountytn.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.