Man appears in court on charges connected to fatal Campbell Lane shooting

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- New details have emerged from the Campbell Lane shooting that happened Sept. 26. On Friday, 24-year-old Treonte Patterson was in court for his preliminary hearing. 

“I feel like he acted out of impulse. I don’t think he meant for this to happen the way that it happened,” said Rita Byrd, the aunt of Treonte Patterson.

Treonte Patterson, who is currently charged with the murder of 17-year-old Michael Whitfield, was seen in court Friday. The details of the interaction before the gun fire were testified by a Bowling Green Detective Ryan Bessette.

Bessette said before Whitfield and two other individuals entered the barbershop, a phone started recording the interaction that led up to the gun fire.

“The video begins before they enter the barbershop and then openly shows them going in asking about a walk in and going into the back to the bathroom, then it shows the beginning of Mr. Patterson being assaulted,” he said.

Bessette said on account of the video recorded by a party that was with Whitfield, after Patterson was on the ground being kicked by Whitfield and another person, he reached into his backpack.

“Then the assault stops. You see the two males run out of the business and you see Mr. Patterson chases behind them and then the video ends with, I believe it was two-gun shots,” he said.

Patterson’s attorney, Ramon McGee, says Patterson is a victim in this case who simply responded to being assaulted

“This is a really interesting case. It shows what happens when a law-abiding private citizen is out into the middle of a violent situation and that’s what happened to Mr. Patterson. Treonte was just there at a barbershop minding his business when he was openly attacked by two kids, two teenagers,” McGee said.

Family members and McGhee said this is not the only run the family has had with associates of Michael Whitfield. 

“There’s been threats followed by these people, these kids that’ve been threatening the family for a couple of years now,” Rita Byrd.

“Treonte had nothing to do with this he didn’t even know the people involved but this is the violence that’s been visited on him for more than a year now,” said McGee.

The family is referring to the case of the death of 16-year-old Jamarco Dye, who died in January 2025 after being shot by 23- year- old Tylan Barnett, who is allegedly Patterson’s brother.

They said they’ve been getting threats from a crime their loved one committed and that Tremonte stayed away from those kinds of crowds.

“My nephew is a very quiet person, he doesn’t bother anybody,” Byrd said.

However, the Commonwealth’s Assistant Attorney, Daniel Miller III, argued probable cause of the charges.

“This court’s job is to determine if Mr. Patterson intentionally fired a weapon at the deceased person. And intended to force physical injury or death, and the evidence in this case is overwhelming that he did so,” Miller said in the hearing.

Honorable Judge Kimberly Geoghegan of Warren County found probable cause for the charges.

“The standard at this point is, is there probable cause for the felony offense that were committed. The court finds probable cause and this case will be bound to the grand jury,” Geoghegan said.

We will keep following this story for you.