FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
October 10, 2017
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Steve Marshall
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
Alabama Attorney General
AG MARSHALL ANNOUNCES COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
UPHOLDS SHELBY COUNTY MURDER CONVICTION
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the Alabama
Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the murder conviction of Dennis Allen Little.
Little, 39, of Columbiana, was convicted in Shelby County Circuit Court in August 2016
for the murder of Johnny Lee Patterson.
Evidence was presented at trial that on or about July 3, 2014, Little killed
Patterson by stabbing him in the neck, and attempted to cover his body with old tires.
Little was found by police with Patterson’s blood on his clothes and Patterson’s bank
card and cellular telephone in his possession.
The case was prosecuted at trial by Shelby County District Attorney Jill Lee’s
office. Little was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and
subsequently sought to have his conviction reversed on appeal.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Section handled the case during the
appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm the
conviction. The Court did so in a decision issued Friday, October 6.
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Kristi
Wilkerson of the Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Section for her successful work
in this case.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
