20-year-old sentenced to life for killing two teens in Sumter County

A man who was 15 when prosecutors said he killed two Sumter County teenagers has been sentenced to life in prison.Clarence Patterson III, now 20, was sentenced Tuesday by Judge Mary P. Hatcher for the 2021 deaths of 17-year-old Isaiah Nelson and 16-year-old Prestin Nixon.Patterson was sentenced to life in prison with a 25-year review on each count of murder, according to the State Attorney’s Office for the Fifth Judicial Circuit.Prosecutors said the sentences will be served consecutively.Patterson was charged with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm.READ: Deputies: Boy, 15, who shot, killed 2 teens ‘wanted to kill someone’On June 4, 2025, Patterson entered an open plea before the court midway through his trial after jurors heard his recorded statement to law enforcement, prosecutors said.He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm, discharging a firearm in public from a vehicle and possession of a firearm by a delinquent.“No doubt this