A man was sentenced for the murders of two Florida teens.
Clarence Patterson III, 20, who was 15 years old at the time of the offense, was charged with two counts of Premeditated First-Degree Murder with a Firearm in the 2021 killings of two Sumter County teens, Isaiah Nelson, 17, and Prestin Nixon, 16.
Judge Mary P. Hatcher sentenced Patterson to life in prison. He was sentenced to life in prison with a 25-year review on each count of murder, to be served concurrently, and 15 years on each subsequent offense, also to be served consecutively.
Patterson had previously submitted an open plea to the court before Judge Mary P. Hatcher midway through his trial after jurors heard the defendant’s taped confession to police. Patterson was found guilty of two charges of first-degree murder with a firearm, discharging a firearm in public from a vehicle, and possessing a firearm as a delinquent.
“No doubt this case has had a resounding impact on our quaint and calm community here in Sumter County,” stated Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson. “The terrible deaths of the two slain kids are deeply upsetting, but it is especially troubling that they were caused by the conduct of another juvenile. This feature adds a disturbing layer to the intricacy of a case of this size.”
On the early morning of May 12, 2021, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office’s communications center received a call about two unidentified dead males lying on the side of the road. When deputies arrived, they spoke with the complainant, who stated that he had passed the two bodies while going about his daily garbage route. The witness also added that he exited the garbage truck to ensure that everything was fine when he observed blood on both individuals and dialed 9-1-1.
Both males, later named as 17-year-old Isaiah Nelson and 16-year-old Prestin Nixon, were pronounced dead on the scene from apparent gunshot injuries.
A neighborhood canvas was performed as crime spot investigators gathered evidence at the spot. A few hours later, authorities responded to a complaint reporting a vehicle parked behind a church with evident bullet holes, shattered glass, and blood inside. Detectives made contact with the vehicle’s owner, who stated that his grandson, Nelson, had used the vehicle the night before.
When authorities contacted Nelson’s brother, they discovered that both victims were last seen in the vehicle with the defendant, Clarence Patterson III, who was randomly shooting a weapon out the window of the vehicle that night. When Patterson was arrested for questioning, he told authorities that he had been with both victims earlier that night but denied any participation in their murders. Patterson later revised his story, confessing to shooting both victims while claiming self-defense.
Assistant State Attorneys Blake Shore and Donald McCathran oversaw the successful prosecution of this case.
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