“The court requested a competency hearing based on the things that Mr. Patterson was saying and the behavior of the last hearing,” said defense attorney Anna Mallory, adding “he was not cooperative with the doctor.”
Patterson was charged with felonious assault with two gun-related specifications, the discharge of a firearm on or near a prohibited premises with one gun-related specification, tampering with evidence, and having weapons while under disability, according to Hamilton police.
In the Feb. 27 report, Patterson is alleged to have attempted “to cause serious physical harm” to Hamilton Police Officers Derek Fryman and James Mignery as they attempted to apprehend him. During a foot pursuit, according to police records, Patterson displayed and discharged a firearm at the officers over a public roadway during that chase.
Credit: Bryn Dippold
Credit: Bryn Dippold
No firearm was found on Patterson when he was arrested. However, investigators said they were able to view video evidence using a city camera system that captured the pursuit, or at least part of it, including when Patterson allegedly pointed a firearm at the officers and fired.
The report indicated investigators saw “a very distinct flash” at Patterson’s hand “and is believed to be the muzzle flash of the firearm being discharged at the officers.”
A spent brass .40-caliber shell casing was found near that alleged muzzle flash, and a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun was found discarded in the mud of an unidentified construction site.
Patterson was given a $290,000 cash or surety bond last month, and if released, he must wear a GPS monitoring system, according to court records.
He is set to be in court at 9 a.m. on April 10 for a plea or trial setting hearing in Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth’s courtroom.
