Samuel Wise was sentenced to Life, suspending all but 50 years, for the fatal shooting of Chesley Patterson
Baltimore, Md. (November 27, 2023) - Today, Samuel Wise pled guilty to First Degree Murder, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Crime of Violence, and First Degree Escape for the fatal shooting of Chesley Patterson that occurred on the 1700 block of Eastern Avenue in January of 2022. Wise was sentenced to Life, suspending all but 50 years, with three years of probation upon release, to be served concurrently with a 20 sentence where the first five years will be ineligible for parole, in addition to another concurrent five-year sentence. Assistant State's Attorney Matthew Pillion prosecuted this case.
“The tragic death of Mr. Patterson was a shock to this tight-knit community and our City as a whole. As his family and loved ones approach the second anniversary of his murder, we continue to grieve with them and extend our victim services to them during this immensely difficult time,” said State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates. “This case highlights my administration’s focus on holding violent offenders accountable. I thank my Homicide Unit for gathering detailed evidence that made this case impossible to refute by the defense and ultimately hold this offender accountable to a 50-year prison sentence.”
On Sunday, January 23, 2022, just before 11:15 p.m., the Baltimore Police received a report of a shooting in the 1700 block of Eastern Avenue near the intersection with S. Broadway. When officers arrived, they observed an adult male, later identified as Mr. Chesley Patterson, lying in the street just behind his vehicle, suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. Medics transported Mr. Patterson to Johns Hopkins Hospital, but he was pronounced dead soon after arrival.
The investigation recovered video surveillance just before the shooting that showed Mr. Patterson emerging from Bristol’s Wine store with a purchase, placing it in his trunk, and getting in his car to pull away from his parking spot on Eastern Avenue. Just as he was backing up to depart, a gold Honda Odyssey van pulled alongside Mr. Patterson’s car and blocked him in, pulling backward and forward to prevent Mr. Patterson from being able to leave.
Seconds later, a person emerged from the van’s front passenger side, ran up to Mr. Patterson’s car, pulled open his front door, struggled with Mr. Patterson for a few seconds, and then shot him one time with a small handgun. The perpetrator returned to the van, quickly fleeing the scene, driving eastbound along Eastern Avenue. The driver of the vehicle and another passenger stayed in the van during the attack. Just after the shooting, Mr. Patterson could be seen on video struggling from the car, clutching the left side of his chest, and then collapsing in the street.
Within minutes of the shooting, police had issued an alert to other officers to be on the lookout for this gold Honda van, which was missing its front driver’s side hub cap. Just before midnight that evening, Southern District police spotted the van at a BP gas station at 2920 Waterview Avenue. When they attempted to stop the van, the driver sped away. Police gave chase and located the van again in the nearby 3000 block of Southland Avenue, but no one was inside the van. Police had the vehicle towed and forensically processed. Among the items recovered during that processing was a set of fingerprints on the passenger side exterior. Those prints were compared against a statewide database and matched Samuel Wise.
The investigation recovered messages in Mr. Wise's cell phone history with a contact from the night of January 23, 2022. At 10:54 p.m., the person asked Wise, “Why can’t I come and get you,” to which Wise replied in part, “Bae im out sticking shit.” The person responded by asking, “What that mean?” Wise texted back at 10:56 p.m., “I'm robbing.” This was less than 10 minutes before the attack on Mr. Patterson, which Citiwatch recorded as happening at 11:05 p.m. Additionally, detectives found a location ping in the phone’s data showing that at 11:18 p.m., Wise’s phone was on Eastern Avenue just past Haven Street between Highlandtown and Greektown. A short time later, at 11:26:47 p.m., Wise texts the person, “im coming threw the toll.” Corresponding with this text, Detectives pulled MVA toll plaza records showing the identical Honda Odyssey from the shooting heading into the I-95 Fort McHenry tunnel driving southbound from the direction of the Eastern Avenue on-ramp to the interstate at exactly 11:26:53 p.m. Two days later, on January 25, 2022, at 3:07 p.m., Wise texted the same person during a text squabble, “im rey get booked for a f****** murder and you keep trying be f****** smart.”
Detectives also found a text conversation from January 24, 2022, at 6:18 a.m., where an individual texted Wise a Citizen App alert for “Shots Fired” at “S Broadway & Eastern Ave” in “Fells Point” issued after 11:00 p.m. on January 23, 2022, with a description of the van police were seeking. At 9:17 a.m., Wise replied with a head slap emoji and a message reading, “That was us geeking im rey come out now.” Moreover, Detectives found photos in the phone depicting Wise wearing the exact attire that the shooter was recorded wearing.