A player on Albuquerque’s Indoor Football League team has been identified as one of the city’s murder victims in November. Martesse Patterson, 26, a star lineman for the Duke City Gladiators, was shot to death earlier this month outside of a convenience store, according to police reports.
Police were called just before 1 a.m. on Nov. 7 to Adam’s Food Market at 7817 Central NE, where two men had been shot, KRQE reported. One person, now known to be Patterson, died on the scene. The other has not been identified, but survived the shooting. The investigation continues.
“I still remember to this day, picking him up from the airport,” Matt Avila, director of Public Affairs for the Gladiators, told KRQE. “He was just a good young man, but what he gave to the team and the community was big leadership. He was a phenomenal player. Off the field, he was another family member.”
Patterson, a 6-foot-5 offensive lineman, played for the Gladiators this past season. A native of Columbus, Ohio, he had long pursued a career in football.
Patterson began his collegiate career at Purdue where he appeared in 11 games and made three starts in 2015. He was slated to be the starting left tackle as a sophomore in 2016 before being arrested on battery chargers for punching a former player.
Patterson wound up transferring to Tuskegee where he started and played in all 10 games and was named to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's All-Conference team and was a preseason All-America heading into 2019.
He found his way to Albuquerque and played well enough to warrant being re-signed for next season. “Martesse was one of the boys who chose to stay in Albuquerque. We had intentions of bringing him back to play with the Gladiators and he chose to stay here, chose to live here,” Avila told KRQE. “His mom would say he’s a big boy, but he was her baby boy.”
Patterson was reportedly an active voice against bullying and made frequent appearances at charity events. The Duke City Gladiators plan to work with the Albuquerque Police Department for a future gun buyback program to raise awareness, offering season tickets in honor of Patterson’s memory.