Probation for man charged in BB shooting

UXBRIDGE - A local man charged with shooting a 28-year-old autistic man with a BB gun admitted sufficient facts for a guilty plea on most charges Oct. 24 in Uxbridge District Court. The case was continued without a finding for 18 months.

Samuel T. Patterson, 19, was charged July 25 with assault and battery on a disabled person, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, discharging a BB gun on a public way, witness intimidation, disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct.

The shooting occurred July 19 in the center of Uxbridge, after Mr. Patterson and two 17-year-old males got into a verbal exchange with the victim, who was walking alone near Jumbo Donuts on Route 16, Douglas St.

The victim suffered a wound to his hip from the BB gunshot, but did not require hospital care.

According to court documents, two charges, assault and battery on a disabled person and disturbing the peace, were dismissed at the request of the state.

Mr. Patterson was ordered by Judge Gerald A. Lemire to participate in supervised probation until April 24, 2019, stay in school unless he enlists in the military, have no contact with the victim and undergo a mental health evaluation and recommended treatment.

Mr. Patterson's lawyer, Bradley W. Phipps, filed a motion to revise and revoke the disposition. According to the defendant's affidavit in support of the motion, the court has allowed Mr. Patterson to appear for early revision and termination of his probation in June 2018, as long as he complies with probation and could show how early termination of probation was essential to already-established career plans after graduation from high school.