BALTIMORE — La Scala Ristorante Italiano is mourning the loss of their General Manager after sources say Chesley Patterson was shot and killed last night in the city.
Patterson or "Chesco" as he was called by his loved ones worked there for more than 15 years.
Gia Blatterman, the owner of Cafe Gia, said she’s known Patterson ever since he started working at La Scala.
She said Patterson was a loving man who made a lasting impression on anyone who got the chance to meet him.
“The community is in a lot of pain because he was one type of person that if you saw him he always broke a smile and he always made you feel like…he was your best friend,” Blatterman said.
She said his death is a shock to the entire Little Italy community.
“He was part of our family,” she said.
Blatterman said he was leaving from work at the time of the shooting, which happened a few blocks away from the restaurant on Eastern Avenue in Fells Point.
“He was going through Fells Point and he stopped at a light and my understanding is that he was pulled out to be robbed and they shot him in cold blood and left him there,” she said.
Patterson’s murder comes in a year where Baltimore City is averaging more than one homicide per day.
Blatterman believes city officials aren’t doing enough to address crime and she said it’s good people like Patterson who are paying the price.
“We have a mayor. He has a plan and it will take four years for this plan to work. And what do we do in the meantime, die?” she said.
No arrests have been made in the case and Baltimore Police haven’t released any suspect information.
If you know anything that could help police in their investigation, you’re strongly encouraged to give them a call.
La Scala shared a post on Facebook regarding the tragic loss.
