FORT WORTH -- Convicted killer Broderick Patterson erupted in the courtroom with anger and a stream of obscenities Friday after jurors handed him a life sentence for the fatal shooting of a Southwest High School student during a burglary.
“This is bulls***,” he said, standing up briefly before being surrounded by bailiffs.“I love you, Momma ... You jurors — f*** all of y’all .... F*** the state. F*** the jury. F*** the news.”He was hustled back into a holding cell area off the courtroom but continued to rail against the jury.“I know y’all can hear me out there,” he said. “F*** all of y’all.”Jurors deliberated about six hours over two days before sentencing Patterson to the maximum in the slaying of Eric Forrester, 17, a member of the Southwest High School swim team who interrupted a burglary after taking his sister home for lunch.Tarrant County prosecutors Robert Huseman and Christy Jack said Patterson’s aggressive reaction was not a surprise to law enforcement authorities.“His behavior in the courtroom validated the jury’s verdict and confirmed what we knew all along,” Huseman said. “He is the definition of danger.”Patterson's aunt, Sherry Pulte, told reporters after the sentencing that she blamed the juvenile justice system for allowing Patterson to go free after he began having problems with the law.He had been arrested for three felonies — including the severe beating of a special-needs student at Southwest High School — and was on probation for another burglary at the time of the shooting.Pulte, Patterson's mother and several family members and acquaintances left the courtroom hurriedly after the outburst. One man in the group pushed a Channel 4 cameraman who had been waiting at the elevators.Prosecutor Jack said the juvenile justice system handled the young man as it should.“I think it showed we have an amazing juvenile justice system,” she said. “We gave him chance after chance after chance.”Patterson was only 16 at the time of his arrest but was certified to stand trial as an adult. Because he was a juvenile at the time of the offense, he was not eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without parole. He will be eligible for parole in 30 years.A co-defendant, Clifton Elliott, who was also 16 at the time of the shooting, was also certified to stand trial as an adult and is awaiting trial on capital murder charges.Each of the teens admitted burglarizing the home but said the other had been holding the gun when it discharged accidentally. The shooting was captured on a chilling 911 tape recorded through a cellphone that Forrester placed in his pocket.His sister, Kali Forrester, also testified about the encounter, and her anguished 911 call was also played for jurors. Kali Forrester fled the home after her brother found the burglars upstairs but she returned to find her brother lifeless on the kitchen floor.Family and friends of Forrester packed the courtroom every day, and testified that Forrester was a kind young man who was devoted to his family, friends and church.Forrester had been to the senior prom just two days before the shooting, and his mother, Debbie Forrester, testified that the prom photo was the last picture ever taken of her son.He had been looking forward to a hiking trip, friends told jurors. The family said they complied with his wishes to be an organ donor.The Forrester family did not want to comment after the jury decision except to thank the prosecutors, judge and jury.Huseman said no trial date has yet been set for Elliott.Dianna Hunt, 817-390-7084Twitter: @DiannaHunt