Samuel Wise Jr. sat between his two attorneys on Monday as they counseled, and consoled, him inside a courtroom in the Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse in Baltimore.

Instead of standing trial in Baltimore Circuit Court, Wise accepted a plea agreement that called for him to serve life in prison with all but 50 years suspended — plus three years’ probation — for fatally shooting Chesley Patterson, 44, the general manager of La Scala Ristorante Italiano, during an attempted robbery in Fells Point in 2022.

Wise stood handcuffed and wearing a yellow jumpsuit, occasionally casting his gaze at the ground and the ceiling and swaying back and forth as he responded to questions from his counsel with, “Yes, ma’am” and, “No, ma’am.”

When he was given the opportunity to make a statement, Wise initially declined but then denied that he committed the crime.

“You took a man’s life,” said Circuit Judge Althea M. Handy, who described his assertion as absurd and questioned whether Wise, 24, of Baltimore County, was in denial or did not want to admit in front of his family that he committed the murder. “You affected many other lives.”

Wise shot back. “For one, I’m not a child,” Wise responded. “I didn’t take a man’s life.”

“You’re not a kid,” Handy replied, “but you act like one.”

A correctional officer later put shackles on Wise and escorted him out of the courtroom.

Assistant State’s Attorney Matt Pillion read a statement of facts in support of the charges of first-degree murder, use of a handgun during the commission of a crime of violence, and first-degree escape.

Baltimore Police received a report of a shooting on Eastern Avenue near South Broadway just before 11:15 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2022. Officers found Patterson lying in the street with a gunshot wound to the chest, and he was later pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Detective Antonio Saunders obtained surveillance video, which showed Patterson putting items that he bought from a liquor store into the trunk of his car.

When Patterson started to back up, a minivan pulled up alongside his vehicle.

That’s when a man got out of the front passenger side of the minivan, ran up to the car, pulled open the driver’s door and shot Patterson during a struggle.

Police later spotted the minivan on Waterview Avenue near Cherry Hill Road in Cherry Hill and pursued it. They eventually found the vehicle abandoned on Southland Avenue.

Investigators forensically processed the minivan and lifted a set of fingerprints on the exterior of the passenger side. They matched Wise.

Wise voluntarily came in for an interview at the Baltimore Police Department’s homicide unit on March 17, 2022, and told detectives that he had been inside the minivan in Westport that day smoking with friends. But he claimed that he did not know their names and gave vague, evasive answers.

He allowed investigators to download the contents of his cellphone. Wise was free to go at the end of the interview.

Law enforcement found a text message that Wise sent less than 10 minutes before the murder that read, “im robbing.” He also texted someone during an argument, “im rey get booking for a f------ murder and you keep trying to be f------ smart.”

Police obtained an arrest warrant for Wise and took him into custody on April 12, 2022. He waived his Miranda rights and, during a break, turned over furniture, punched the wall and ripped down soundproof foam in an interview room at the homicide unit.

When detectives came back into the room, Wise said, “I was there!” and stated, “I accept my consequences.” He “then proceeded to angrily congratulate the detectives for sending him to prison for life.”

Later, Wise broke loose from detectives as they were taking him to a police wagon to go to the Baltimore Central Booking & Intake Center, ran down the stairs and climbed over a wall. They tackled him several minutes later on the median at the intersection of President Street and Interstate 83. He called two women from jail and stated, “Man look, I’m done bro. I’m done!”

Assistant Public Defender Stephanie Salter, one of Wise’s attorneys, said her client is a high school graduate who had been living with his mother and worked at FedEx, Walmart and Horseshoe Casino.

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency had his fingerprints on file from a background check.

Wise, she said, is smart. Salter said she believed that he could rehabilitate himself.

“This was a horrible crime, horrible case,” Salter said. “But he can prove himself.”

Patterson worked for almost 20 years at La Scala Ristorante Italiano, his obituary states, where co-workers fondly referred to him as “Chesco.” He graduated in 1995 from Chambersburg Area High School in Pennsylvania.

“The tragic death of Mr. Patterson was a shock to this tight-knit community and our City as a whole,” State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said in a statement. “As his family and loved ones approach the second anniversary of his murder, we continue to grieve with them and extend our victim services to them during this immensely difficult time.”

Bates said the case illustrates his administration’s focus on holding violent offenders accountable.

Several of Patterson’s friends and and co-workers sat in the gallery of the courtroom during the hearing.

In an interview, John and Karen Englar, who were friends with Patterson for 20 years, recalled how they first met him when he worked as a sommelier at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in Baltimore.

Patterson, they said, had many friends who loved and respected him. He would greet customers, make sure that they were satisfied, and wish them goodnight.

John Englar described Patterson as an excellent representative of La Scala Ristorante Italiano and Little Italy.

“It was a senseless killing,” he said, “of a very, very good man.”

dylan.segelbaum@thebaltimorebanner.com