On Dec. 21, 2023, Deputy Cheyanne Abernathy and Investigator Dylan Legg met with two victims who reported being shot at early Thursday morning on Bob Jones Parkway in the Elkmont Rural Village Community. According to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, Legg recovered a projectile from the driver’s door of the vehicle.

Deputy Hayden Pierce responded to the scene and recovered three spent shell casings. Lt. Johnny Morell and Investigator Steven Ferguson responded to the area and collected security video that captured the shooting. Investigators and deputies began to search for the vehicle, and on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, it was located in the 18000 block of Valley Lane.

According to LCSO, the owner, Jeremy Lee Patterson, had begun to alter the vehicle by trying to cover up identifying damage with tape and removing his toolboxes.

During an interview with Captain Caleb Durden and Legg, Patterson confessed to the shooting. Patterson explained that he saw a suspicious vehicle in his neighborhood and decided to investigate it without notifying law enforcement. Upon approaching the car, Patterson pulled nose to nose, shining his lights in the victim’s car, blinding them. Not knowing who was approaching them, the victims, who also live in the neighborhood, drove around Patterson.

Patterson gave chase and nearly rammed the victim’s car, the sheriff’s office said. The victims fled down a dead-end road, and Patterson parked and waited for them to exit. When the victims exited, Patterson allegedly got out of his truck, used his truck hood to brace his firearm, and fired three rounds at the victims, striking the driver’s door once. The victims fled to Tennessee as Patterson allegedly chased them on Hwy. 127. They were able to lose Patterson on the backroads and return to Alabama to report the crime.

Patterson, 46, of Elkmont, Ala., was arrested for Shooting Into an Occupied Vehicle and booked into the Limestone County jail. When Patterson was being searched in the jail for contraband, it drugs were discovered. Patterson was also charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Promoting Prison Contraband Second Degree. Patterson’s bond will be set on a later date by a judge.

“I’m proud of the quick work by our team to identify and locate this dangerous offender. By taking the law into his own hands, he put countless lives in danger by recklessly discharging his weapon in a very populated neighborhood. If you witnessed this crime, please contact Investigator Legg or Captain Durden; we want to hear from you. If you see something suspicious, please call us, and we will investigate so we can keep incidents like this from happening,” said Limestone County Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin.