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Mar 27, 2008 5:02 pm US/Central
Man Who Confessed To Oregon Murder Talks To CBS11
RICHARDSON (CBS 11 News) ―
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David Lee Patterson confessed to Richardson police that he killed an Oregon man in 1991.
Richardson Police Dept.
Last week, David Lee Patterson walked into a Richardson Police Department and confessed to the May 1991 shooting death of a 21-year-old Portland, Oregon man.
The 60-year-old remains jailed in North Texas. He is awaiting extradition to Portland, Oregon, where he faces a murder charge.
Thursday, he spoke with CBS 11 News about why he confessed to the shooting after nearly 17 years.
After a battle with depression and drug abuse, he said it was time to come clean.
"My life has been a living Hell. A lot of people don't understand," he said. "It just got to the point where I got tired of this. I'm 60-years-old, and I had to clear this up, because I've got two daughters and five grandkids I've never seen."
At the time of the shooting, Patterson was homeless, sleeping in a funeral home doorway. He said three white men attacked him in the middle of the night.
"All of a sudden, someone stomping me, kicking me, calling me [expletive] this and that," he said. "I was attacked. I didn't attack them. It was unprovoked. So what happened after that was because of what they took."
He said he pulled out a gun and fired. He said the shooting was in self defense, but he thought police would not believe him.
Detectives say the shooting victim was 12-year-old Eric Lamon.
After the shooting, Patterson lived in Oregon for another nine years. He moved to Dallas in 2000.
"I don't have a lot of time left, so I have to try to mend fences with my family and other things," he said. "Now its time."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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