3 sentenced for deadly 2023 Tempe drive-by shooting
TEMPE, Ariz. - Three men were sentenced for their roles in a deadly Tempe drive-by shooting that killed a little boy and injured a teen and young girl.
What we know:
In March 2023, Alfred Gary, Freddy Patterson and Charles Adams pulled up alongside a black Chevrolet Impala at a red light near 48th Street and Broadway Road in Tempe. Seven people were inside the Impala, mostly kids and teens, and they shot more than 20 rounds into it.
A five-year-old boy was killed, and a 17-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl were injured.
"The defendants then picked up dinner before returning to the crime scene to take a video, which they used to brag about the shooting with fellow gang members," the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said.
Documented gang members, Patterson and Adams, had an issue with a rival gang member inside the Impala.
"All three defendants pleaded guilty to a range of felony offenses, including second-degree murder, drive-by shooting, conspiracy to commit a drive-by shooting, and aggravated assault. Gary was sentenced to 16 years in prison, while Patterson and Adams were each sentenced to 30 years in prison," MCAO said.
Patterson and Adams had another five years tacked onto their sentences because of a drive-by shooting that happened two days earlier. They shot into a car with a mother and her kids inside – no one was hurt.