Patterson's conviction met with tears, outrage

A jury found Joseph Patterson guilty of murder Tuesday evening, causing a Canton courtroom to boil over with emotion.

Patterson was convicted of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and aggravated battery against a person under the age of 3 for the death of 2-year-old Tyrese Ruffin, son of NFL running back Adrian Peterson. Ruffin was found unresponsive in Patterson’s care in October 2013.

The verdict was met with tears and outrage from Patterson’s family and supporters. Upon the guilty announcement, two family members stood and cursed at the jury. Others stormed out behind them, escorted by courthouse security.

“It was unfortunate to see that,” Lincoln County State’s Attorney Tom Wollman said.

Ruffin’s mother, Ashley Doohen, and her family hugged and cried in the front row of the courtroom.

“We couldn’t be more excited and thrilled for Tyrese,” Deputy Attorney General Bob Mayer said after the verdict. “He finally gets the justice he deserved.”

The family was “elated” with the news, Mayer said, and conversations with Doohen and her family were “very focused” on Ruffin, Wollman added.

“Today and tonight is very much about Ty, and his voice was heard in the courtroom today,” Wollman said.

Earlier Tuesday, attorneys from both sides made their final case to the jury after two weeks of tense and often technical testimony.

The underlying question from the start had been the cause of Ruffin’s fatal injuries.

Mayer said Patterson’s explanation that Ruffin choked to death on a strawberry fruit snack was based on a “house of cards” and “junk science.”

Assistant Attorney General Laura Shattuck reinforced the idea that Patterson was a proponent of spanking and physical punishment.

“The defendant did not intend to kill Tyrese,” Shattuck said in court. “But he did intend to discipline him.”

Shattuck began her argument by reading a text message Patterson sent Ruffin’s mother — and Patterson’s girlfriend — a month before the boy’s death.

“Me and my ways of disciplining ain’t changing,” the text message read.

Shattuck went on to punch her fist into her hand, indicating the “1, 2, 3, 4” blows Patterson allegedly dealt Ruffin, causing the bleeding in his brain that led doctors to suspect some sort of abuse or trauma.

Defense attorney Tim Rensch focused on the jury’s responsibility to come to a decision “beyond a reasonable doubt,” adding that a “reasonable doubt” may include hesitation to accept conflicting medical testimonies.

Rensch’s closing statements summarized medical experts who said Ruffin’s injuries were caused by choking. He reminded the jury that Ruffin showed no physical signs of the bleeding in his brain.

“It makes no sense at all,” Rensch said. “Is it really possible for a man to know how to hit a kid so hard … and not leave a mark?”

He noted the contradictory medical testimony from both sides as something that may give jurors cause to “pause or hesitate.” He said any doubt that causes a juror to hesitate is enough of a doubt to acquit.

“Just because there’s one tragedy does not mean there should be another, too,” Rensch said. “Find him not guilty.”

Mayer’s rebutal asked the jury who they believe: local doctors who treated Ruffin, or doctors paid by the defense to testify.

He criticized Rensch’s medical witnesses, calling on the jury to “reject the defense’s expert opinions.”

The Lincoln County jury of three men and 9 women deliberated for more than five hours before reaching the guilty verdict.

Patterson could be sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. He is being housed at the Minnehaha County Jail until his sentencing.

A formal sentencing will be scheduled for a later date, likely within 45 to 60 days, Wollman said.