Details emerge in Campbell Lane shooting

Published 6:00 am Tuesday, October 6, 2026

The case against a Bowling Green man accused of fatally shooting a teenager outside a Campbell Lane business has been sent to a grand jury.

Treonte Patterson, 24, faces charges that include murder, first-degree criminal mischief and seven counts of first-degree wanton endangerment stemming from the Sept. 26 incident, which left 17-year-old Michael Whitfield dead.

Patterson was arrested by the Bowling Green Police Department near the scene of the shooting.

At a preliminary hearing held Friday in Warren District Court, BGPD Detective Ryan Bessette shared details about the investigation.

Bessette said that, just before the shooting, Patterson was in JC’s Barber Shop on Campbell Lane getting a haircut when Whitfield, a juvenile male and a woman entered the business.

Bessette testified that one of the people in the group asked an employee about an appointment while the other two walked toward the back of the business.

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At a certain point, Whitfield and the juvenile began assaulting Patterson, and police recovered a cellphone recording from one of the people in the group who entered the barber shop, Bessette said.

The detective said that Patterson reported that he reached for a bag in his possession, took out a handgun, got to his feet and ran after his two assailants outside the business, firing shots in their direction.

“It appears that as (Patterson) is coming to his feet, he’s reaching into his bag to retrieve the firearm,” Bessette said. “As soon as Patterson gets up he startes to chase after them.”

Patterson received three gunshot wounds in his back, and he was found near the vehicle he used to drive to the shopping center, with no weapon in his possession, Bessette said.

Two vans in the parking lot were struck by gunfire, and one of them was parked and occupied by seven people, but no other injuries were reported, according to Bessette.

Patterson’s attorney, Ramon McGee, cross-examined Bessette, asking if any of the three people who entered the barber shop was armed.

“One of the barbers said maybe he’d seen a gun, but he couldn’t be sure,” Bessette said.

As of Friday, police had been unable to locate the juvenile reportedly involved in the incident and he has not made himself available for an interview, according to Bessette.

McGee at one point asked the detective about the relationship between Patterson and Whitfield.

“Patterson stated that there was familial history, but that he had never seen either of these three subjects before that day,” Bessette said. “A couple of years ago there was an altercation that resulted in the death of one of Whitfield’s friends.”

Bessette testified that Patterson reported receiving threats related to that incident.

“This attack is only the latest chapter in an ongoing series of threats against Mr. Patterson and his family,” McGee said while arguing that the prosecution had not met its burden to prove probable cause that a felony was committed and that Patterson was responsible.

Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Daniel “Tres” Miller argued that Patterson intentionally fired his weapon at Whitfield and that whether he was entitled to do so was not an issue to be determined by the district court.

Warren District Judge Kim Geoghegan found probable cause to send the case to the grand jury.