Adrian Patillo
A Pine Bluff man accused of shooting two people in May was formally charged with murder Tuesday afternoon.
Adrian Patillo, 31, allegedly shot Jennifer Wainwright, 34, and Marcus Thorns, 44, during an incident at 1209 N. University Drive on May 26.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene as a result of gunshot wounds.
Prosecuting Attorney S. Kyle Hunter charged Patillo with two counts of capital murder and with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm because Patillo had previously been convicted on drug related charges, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, aggravated assault and terroristic act, and has served time in the penitentiary.
During a court hearing for Patillo on May 29, Deputy Prosecutor Maxie Kizer said the initial police investigation indicated that Patillo went to a relative’s house where he took a .9-millimeter handgun, then drove to Marky D’s at 1209 N. University Drive where he reportedly went into the restroom and chambered a round into the gun.
Detective Steven Rucker reported that Wainwright was on the parking lot when Patillo walked up to her and shot her in the head, then went to a trailer where Thorns was inside, opened the door and shot Thorns in the chest.
Kizer said after Patillo shot Wainwright and Thorns, he ran from the scene and received a gunshot wound to the right thigh, which witnesses said was self-inflicted, and also got rid of the gun, which police have not located.
Patillo reportedly ran to a businesss in the 1000 block of North University Drive where he told several people “someone shot me,” Rucker said in his report.
Rucker reported that Patillo waived his right to an attorney and claimed Wainwright pulled a gun on him, and said he got the gun away from Wainwright and “shot my way out of there.”
The body of Patillo’s brother, Chrisopher Patillo, 28, was found in a car parked in the area of 24th Avenue and Plum Street on Jan. 19. He had been shot to death and no arrests have been made in that shooting.
Wainwright was the mother of Christopher Patillo’s child.
Adrian Patillo was charged as an habitual offender because of the prior convictions and if convicted of murder, could face an enhancement of up to 15 years in jail if the jury decides a weapon was involved in the slayings of Wainwright and Thorns.
Patillo is being held without bond at the adult detention center and the case was assigned to First Division Circuit Judge Berlin C. Jones.
If convicted of capital murder, Patillo could be sentenced to death by lethal injection or life in prison without the possibility of parole.