MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has announced that the man who’d been caught on video with a weapon at the Criminal Justice Center has been arrested.
The announcement came from Chief Deputy Anthony Buckner during a press conference on Saturday afternoon.
The suspect has been identified as 23-year-old Dedrick Patterson.
On Thursday, a video showing a man armed with a gun inside the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center circulated on social media.
On Friday afternoon, SCSO released photos of the man they believe is responsible for the video. The photos show a man wearing a black mask navigating around the metal detectors in a wheelchair.
“I mean, I think it’s just another example why we need to go ahead and build a new jail. If you go through that security system at the jail, it’s outdated, it’s old. I’m not surprised somebody was able to get something through. But it’s no excuse because we need to allocate money to rebuild this jail, get them a better safety and security system, so that incidents like that won’t happen again,” said Senator London Lamar (D-Memphis).
An arrest warrant was issued on Friday night, and at approximately 11 p.m., detectives, along with SCSO’s patrol division and the Fugitive Apprehension Team, executed a search warrant in the 3000 block of Bannockburn Road.
During the execution of the warrant, detectives were able to locate evidence associated with the case.
Around the same time, at 12:06 a.m., Dedrick Patterson turned himself in at 201 Poplar, but he refused to answer any questions. He was taken into custody and booked into the Shelby County Jail.
WREG asked Chief Deputy Buckner if the suspect is indeed wheelchair-bound; however, it’s a question that remains unanswered at this time.
“We have not 100% confirmed that, but obviously, we will continue with this investigation and other people could be charged, and that’s questions that we are still trying to vet,” Buckner said.
Patterson has been charged with carrying weapons in a courtroom, possession/taking contraband into a penal facility, and possession of a prohibited weapon.
As the investigation continues, Chief Deputy Buckner says safety and security measures are top of mind.
They say they’re coordinating with the CJC’s security vendor to determine how this happened and how it can be prevented.
People can also expect to see an increased law enforcement presence.
“How do we prevent this from happening again? Obviously, we know, this individual presented himself at the security checkpoint, inside of a wheelchair,” Buckner said. “And how we scrutinize individuals in a wheelchair is going to be conversations that we’re going to have to have next week and the weeks to come.”
The SCSO said there’s also a chance that other involved individuals could be charged.
Dedrick Patterson has been given a $120,000 bond.
