Michael Patton / Photo from Facebook
BY KALEY FOWLER
Homicide Watch Chicago
Michael "Yung Stacks" Patton decided in junior high that he wanted to be a rapper and devoted his life to music.
Michael, 17, was fatally shot about 10:40 p.m. June 30 in the 600 block of East 50th Place, authorities said.
Michael recently graduated from Bolingbrook High School, according to friends who are not being named because they are juveniles. Michael lived in southwest suburban Bolingbrook, but began making frequent trips to the city to stay with friends and family after his mother died this year.
“Rapping was his dream, and he sure had something special in him," a friend said. "He spilled his heart out in his music, rapping about his life and his struggles. He was planning to move back to the suburbs to work on his music.”
Authorities said Michael and a 15-year-old boy were in the Grand Boulevard neighborhood when a van approached. Somebody inside demanded money and a struggle ensued that ended with both teens shot, according to police, which described the incident as drug related.
“He wanted to be a good person, but he got caught up in trying to survive on his own,” a friend said. “He didn't have a whole lot of people, only a few who really cared about him.”
Patton's friends said he was especially close with his three sisters and said he would do anything for his friends and family.
“Not too long ago, Mike posted a photo of him and his littlest sister with a caption that said, 'Me and the little princess,'" a friend said. "It was real sweet."
Patton had a great sense of humor and an ability to make anyone laugh, according to his friends.
“He was always crackin' jokes,” a friend said. “In school he didn't care about getting in trouble, just having fun.”
Michael's friends said he will be greatly missed, and all of them acknowledged that Michael wouldn't want them to dwell on his death.
“If he was here right now he wouldn't want us crying,” a friend said. “He wouldn't like that.”
Nobody has been charged for the murder. Area Central detectives are investigating.