Arrests made in four-month old case

Two Oconee County men are charged in a four-month investigation of a drive-by shooting near Seneca. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Ronnie Joe Patterson Jr., has been charged with attempted murder, discharging a firearm into a dwelling, possession of a violent crime, and discharging a firearm into a vehicle. The 35-year old Patterson currently is in prison in Allendale. Jimmy Watt, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said Patterson is accused of shooting a person in the ear as that person sat on the front porch of a home on Thatcher Road. A second man arrested—Timothy Wayne Owens—has been charged with accessory after the fact. Owens, who is also 35, is accused of helping Patterson sell the gun used in the shooting.