3 sentenced for deadly 2023 Tempe drive-by shooting
The Brief
Three men were sentenced for a deadly drive-by shooting in Tempe back in March 2023.
A boy, 5, was killed and a teen boy and girl were injured in the shooting near 48th Street and Broadway Road.
TEMPE, Ariz. - Three men were sentenced for their roles in a deadly Tempe drive-by shooting that killed a little boy and injured a teen and young girl.
What we know
In March 2023, Alfred Gary, Freddy Patterson and Charles Adams pulled up alongside a black Chevrolet Impala at a red light near 48th Street and Broadway Road in Tempe. Seven people were inside the Impala, mostly kids and teens, and they shot more than 20 rounds into it.
A five-year-old boy was killed, and a 17-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl were injured.
"The defendants then picked up dinner before returning to the crime scene to take a video, which they used to brag about the shooting with fellow gang members," the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said.
Documented gang members, Patterson and Adams, had an issue with a rival gang member inside the Impala.
"All three defendants pleaded guilty to a range of felony offenses, including second-degree murder, drive-by shooting, conspiracy to commit a drive-by shooting, and aggravated assault. Gary was sentenced to 16 years in prison, while Patterson and Adams were each sentenced to 30 years in prison," MCAO said.
Patterson and Adams had another five years tacked onto their sentences because of a drive-by shooting that happened two days earlier. They shot into a car with a mother and her kids inside – no one was hurt.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mushroom cook denies cancer claim at lunch
Alleged mushroom poisoner Erin Patterson has denied telling her lunch guests she had cancer and asking for advice on how to break the news to her children, the jury in her triple-murder trial has heard. Ms Patterson, 50, is facing trial accused of murdering Simon Patterson's parents and aunt and the attempted murder of his uncle after the four guests fell critically ill following a lunch at her Leongatha home on July 29, 2023. She has pleaded not guilty, with her defence arguing the case was not deliberate poisoning but a tragic accident. Giving evidence on her fourth day in the witness box on Thursday, Ms Patterson was grilled at length by Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC about her 'so-called cancer diagnosis'. Earlier in the week, the alleged killer admitted she feigned receiving a series of medical tests, including a needle biopsy and an MRI, claiming she was concerned about a lump on her elbow 'at one point' but was planning to use the medical test ruse as cover for a gastric bypass surgery. 'I thought perhaps letting them believe I had some serious issue that needed treatment might mean they'd be able to help me with the logistics around the kids and I wouldn't have to tell them the real reason,' she said on Wednesday. Dr Rogers suggested Ms Patterson continued the 'fiction' to her husband Simon Patterson's parents, Don and Gail, expecting them to tell Simon so he would be less likely to reject the lunch invitation. 'The answer is no because I would not expect her to tell him any of that,' she responded. 'They made me feel loved and cared for in the way they were asking be about my health … so I just kept going.' Dr Rogers asked Ms Patterson if she told guests at the lunch on July 29, 2023, she had cancer. 'I don't think I put it that precisely,' she said. 'I don't remember saying I had a diagnosis.' The prosecutor continued the line of questioning, asking if she agreed that 'even in your evidence yesterday' Ms Patterson told the lunch guests she had upcoming treatment for cancer. 'I can't remember the exact words I used, as to whether I said 'I had' or 'I might need to', but I was trying to communicate that there might be some treatment coming up,' Ms Patterson responded. Dr Rogers suggested Ms Patterson wanted her guests to believe she would be receiving cancer treatment, which she agreed with. Dr Rogers then took Ms Patterson to the evidence of Ian Wilkinson, who said she had asked for advice on how to break the news of her 'life-threatening' diagnosis. In response, Ms Patterson suggested Mr Wilkinson was wrong, saying there was 'nothing to tell the kids'. 'I suggest that you never thought you would have to account for this lie about having cancer, because you thought that the lunch guests would die?' Dr Rogers asked. 'That's not true,' Ms Patterson responded. 'Lethal dose': Cook grilled on mushroom pic Ms Patterson was taken to a series of images police located in cache records from the Google Photos app on a Samsung tablet. She confirmed the photos were 'likely' taken by her, and depict her kitchen bench, dehydrator and scales. 'I only phrase it that way I don't have a specific memory of taking the photo,' the alleged killer said. Dr Rogers took Ms Patterson to the evidence of mycologist Dr Tom May who said one image of mushrooms on a dehydrator tray being weighed was 'consistent with Amanita Phalloides (death cap mushrooms)'. The image, Dr Rogers said, was recorded in metadata as being last modified on May 4, 2023. The prosecutor suggested these were death cap mushrooms Ms Patterson collected from the nearby town of Loch after seeing a post on citizen science website iNaturalist. 'That is not correct,' Ms Patterson replied. Dr Rogers suggested the image depicts her weighing the mushrooms so she could 'calculate the lethal dose'. 'Disagree,' Ms Paterson said. Judge gives update on trial After a short break, jurors were given an update on the trial, now in its sixth week, by trial judge Justice Christopher Beale. The judge said it was likely Ms Patterson would remain in the witness box until at least the end of the week and following that, there would need to be a break for legal discussions. 'Those discussions may take a couple of days,' he said. Justice Beale said there was a 'possibility' there may be more evidence called in the trial before closing addresses from the prosecution and defence. 'Each of those could take a couple of days which would see out that week,' he said. Jurors would then be given directions, he said, before they were sent off to deliberate. 'So my final directions to you could take a couple of days, then the boot is on the other foot because none of you can tell me how long deliberations will take,' Justice Beale said. Prosecution begins with rapid fire questions about lies to police Crown Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC starts off her line of questioning at a rapid pace, asking Ms Patterson to confirm she lied to police about owning a dehydrator, dehydrating food stuffs and foraging for mushrooms. Ms Patterson confirms this is the case. The prosecutor takes the accused woman through a series of exhibits, including photos found on her tablet of mushrooms and a dehydrator, an invoice showing she purchased the dehydrator on April 28, 2023, and photos of her disposing of it at the tip on August 2. 'You rushed out to get rid of the evidence, you lied to the police because you knew you had used the dehydrator?' Ms Rogers asks. 'No I didn't know that,' Ms Patterson replied. 'You knew if you told the police it would implicate you in the deliberate poisoning?' the prosecutor follows with. 'No, it's not correct,' she responds. Erin denies deliberately harming lunch guests Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC then took Ms Patterson through a series of propositions he said related to the prosecution case. She is asked if she lied about only cooking one batch of beef wellingtons, responding; 'No, I didn't lie'. Mr Mandy then runs through a series of questions, including whether she lied about purchasing mushrooms from an Asian grocer, her children eating the leftovers, and pretending to be sick following the lunch. Each Ms Patterson denies. The barrister carries on asking about whether Ms Patterson ever deliberately picked death cap mushrooms and intentionally included them in the lunch. Again Ms Patterson denies this is the case. Going through the four lunch guests, Don, Gail, Ian and Heather, Mr Mandy first asks if she intended to kill, seriously injure or harm them. Her voice faltering, Ms Patterson replies; 'no, I did not' to each. Mr Mandy then closes his examination in chief and hands over Ms Patterson to Crown Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC. 'Stupid': Why Erin says she lied to police Giving evidence on Thursday, Ms Patterson was asked by her barrister if she had lied to police in her record of interview when she denied owning a dehydrator, dehydrating things and ever foraging for mushrooms. She confirmed she had. Asked why, Ms Patterson said it occurred 'in the context of thinking mushrooms I had foraged … had made people sick'. 'It was this stupid knee-jerk reaction to dig deeper and keep on lying, I was scared,' she said. Mushroom cook admits lies to husband, in-laws Taking the stand following the closure of the prosecution case this week, Ms Patterson was asked by her barrister Colin Mandy SC about a message exchange with her husband. Earlier in the trial, the jury was told the pair separated in 2015 but remained amicable as they continued to co-parent their two children. Reading the messages, Mr Mandy said the evening before the lunch Simon Patterson declined an invitation he'd earlier agreed to. 'Sorry, I feel too uncomfortable about coming to the lunch with you, mum, dad, Heather & Ian tomorrow, but am happy to talk about your health and implications of that at another time if you'd like to discuss on the phone. Just let me know,' the message read. Ms Patterson responded saying; 'That's really disappointing. I've spent many hours this week preparing lunch for tomorrow which has been exhausting in light of the issues I'm facing and spent a small fortune on beef eye fillet to make beef Wellingtons because I wanted it to be a special meal as I may not be able to host a lunch like this again for some time.' 'It's important to me that you're all there tomorrow and that I can have the conversations that I need to have. I hope you'll change your mind. Your parents and Heather and Ian are coming at 12.30. I hope to see you there.' Asked about her reaction, Ms Patterson told the jury she felt a bit hurt and a bit stressed by Simon's message. Questioned by Mr Mandy if the reply was true, she said: 'Apart from the fact that I'd spent a small fortune on beef eye fillet and I wanted it to be special, the rest was exaggeration.' She told the court she exaggerated because she wanted him to attend so she could discuss an upcoming medical procedure, specifically about sorting out plans for the care of their son and daughter. Earlier in the day, Ms Patterson told the jury she had misled Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, about needing a series of tests on a lump on her elbow. She said earlier the same year she had a lump but it resolved itself and she was planning to use it as a cover to get gastric bypass surgery. 'I had come to the conclusion that I wanted to do something, for once and for all about my weight and my poor eating habits. So I was planning to have gastric bypass surgery and so I remember thinking I didn't want to tell anybody what I was going to have done,' she said. 'I was really embarrassed about it, so I thought perhaps letting them believe I had some serious issue that needed treatment might mean they'd be able to help me with the logistics around the kids and I wouldn't have to tell them the real reason.' The jury was shown a series of messages between Ms Patterson and Gail Patterson over a few weeks in June where she kept up the charade, writing to her mother-in-law that she was waiting for the results of a biopsy and then needing an MRI. Asked 'were those lies?' by Mr Mandy, Ms Patterson confirmed 'yes'. 'They had shown quite a lot of care about that, which felt really nice … I didn't want their care of me to stop, so I just kept it going. I shouldn't have done it,' she said. Ms Patterson told the court she 'shouldn't have' said those things to Simon but wanted him to feel bad about cancelling at the last minute. Asked by her barrister whether it was true when she said she'd spent 'many hours' preparing for the lunch, the accused woman confirmed it was not. 'I didn't do any preparing other than shopping and researching the recipe, so I guess the answer to your question is, no, it wasn't true,' she said. 'I didn't mean to do any of that. I shouldn't have done any of that, but that's what I was thinking at the time.' Don and Gail Patterson and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson died in early August 2023 from organ failure linked to death cap mushroom poisoning. Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson recovered after about a month and a half in hospital. Ms Patterson is expected to return to the witness box on Thursday, where Mr Mandy told the jury he had about 15 minutes more of questions, before she is turned over to the prosecution to question. The trial continues.

Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Yvette Clarke endorses Adrienne Adams for New York City mayor
NEW YORK — Rep. Yvette Clarke is endorsing Adrienne Adams as her top choice for New York City mayor, lending the City Council speaker a much-needed boost as she seeks traction in the final weeks of the campaign, POLITICO reports exclusively. Clarke and her powerbroker mother Una Clarke are influential among Caribbean New Yorkers. They're also closely allied with New York Attorney General Letitia James, who recruited and endorsed Adams in a contentious primary that Andrew Cuomo is dominating. Adams is a late entry into the race. She qualified only last week for public matching funds. And she's been polling behind Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani, the surging Democratic socialist who's closing the gap with the former governor. 'Working families in Brooklyn and across this city deserve a mayor who puts people first — someone who leads with both strength and compassion, and who has the experience to make government work for everyone,' Clarke said in a statement. 'Speaker Adrienne Adams is ready on day one to partner with me and my colleagues in protecting New Yorkers from the harmful policies coming out of the White House.' Clarke, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, said she will make Adams her No. 1 pick in the ranked choice primary June 24. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, another Brooklyn Democrat, also endorsed Adams but additionally backed Mamdani and progressive city Comptroller Brad Lander in April as a part of her slate. The incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, is forgoing the Democratic primary and will run in the general election as an independent candidate. Clarke's nod comes as her political club, the Progressive Democrats Political Association, plans to endorse an unranked slate of candidates that includes Cuomo, though many members wanted to make Adrienne Adams their top choice, three people familiar with the decision told POLITICO. The Brooklyn club, founded by Una Clarke, considered backing Adams first, followed by Lander, Cuomo, club member Zellnor Myrie and Mamdani — in that order. But amid deliberations about whether to rank the candidates and pressure from Cuomo's allies within the club, members instead plan to release a five-candidate slate that shows no preferential order, according to two people familiar with the process who were granted anonymity to speak freely. Clarke's endorsement is one of the last from New York congressional delegation members in the primary. She endorsed Maya Wiley in the 2021 primary for mayor. The chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Adriano Espaillat of Manhattan and the Bronx, endorsed Cuomo last month. And the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus chair, Rep. Grace Meng of Queens, has yet to make her pick in the crowded primary. The prized congressional endorsement among the primary's progressives is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has yet to announce her choices.


Politico
6 hours ago
- Politico
Yvette Clarke endorses Adrienne Adams for New York City mayor
NEW YORK — Rep. Yvette Clarke is endorsing Adrienne Adams as her top choice for New York City mayor, lending the City Council speaker a much-needed boost as she seeks traction in the final weeks of the campaign, POLITICO reports exclusively. Clarke and her powerbroker mother Una Clarke are influential among Caribbean New Yorkers. They're also closely allied with New York Attorney General Letitia James, who recruited and endorsed Adams in a contentious primary that Andrew Cuomo is dominating. Adams is a late entry into the race. She qualified only last week for public matching funds. And she's been polling behind Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani, the surging Democratic socialist who's closing the gap with the former governor. 'Working families in Brooklyn and across this city deserve a mayor who puts people first — someone who leads with both strength and compassion, and who has the experience to make government work for everyone,' Clarke said in a statement. 'Speaker Adrienne Adams is ready on day one to partner with me and my colleagues in protecting New Yorkers from the harmful policies coming out of the White House.' Clarke, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, said she will make Adams her No. 1 pick in the ranked choice primary June 24. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, another Brooklyn Democrat, also endorsed Adams but additionally backed Mamdani and progressive city Comptroller Brad Lander in April as a part of her slate. The incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, is forgoing the Democratic primary and will run in the general election as an independent candidate. Clarke's nod comes as her political club, the Progressive Democrats Political Association, plans to endorse an unranked slate of candidates that includes Cuomo, though many members wanted to make Adrienne Adams their top choice, three people familiar with the decision told POLITICO. The Brooklyn club, founded by Una Clarke, considered backing Adams first, followed by Lander, Cuomo, club member Zellnor Myrie and Mamdani — in that order. But amid deliberations about whether to rank the candidates and pressure from Cuomo's allies within the club, members instead plan to release a five-candidate slate that shows no preferential order, according to two people familiar with the process who were granted anonymity to speak freely. Clarke's endorsement is one of the last from New York congressional delegation members in the primary. She endorsed Maya Wiley in the 2021 primary for mayor. The chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Adriano Espaillat of Manhattan and the Bronx, endorsed Cuomo last month. And the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus chair, Rep. Grace Meng of Queens, has yet to make her pick in the crowded primary. The prized congressional endorsement among the primary's progressives is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has yet to announce her choices.