SMYRNA, TN – On August 30, 2022, Nicholas Patterson showed up for work like any other day – just as he had done for the past 9-years. Armed with a smile, “Nick” was described by one customer as the type of person who had an innate ability to make others feel at ease and safe. With a sigh, the same patron told WGNS, “If a customer was in a bad mood or grumpy when they approached the counter at the gas station where Nick worked, their frown would typically be turned upside down by the time they left.”

During the early morning hours of August 30, 2022, an armed man entered the Twice Daily gas station in Smyrna, where Nick had worked for 9-years, and demanded money. Little did anyone know that Nick, who was working the early morning shift that Tuesday, would soon draw his last breath. Within a matter of seconds of the armed man entering the store, opened fire, striking Nick Patterson just before 3:00 AM. After shooting Patterson, the gunman fled the business before police arrived at Twice Daily minutes later.

When officers got to the scene of the attempted armed robbery, they found Patterson suffering from what were described as “serious injuries.” He was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where he later died from his wounds.

After a lengthy investigation that involved multiple departments, Keanthony Martize Williams was arrested and charged with the murder of Patterson. He was also linked to two additional robberies in Brentwood and Nashville — with all three crimes occurring within a three-day period.

In 2024, Williams was found guilty in both the Nashville and Brentwood hold-ups. Between the two courts, he was sentenced to spend the next 26 years in prison. However, the time he ultimately spends behind bars could increase significantly if he’s found guilty in Rutherford County for killing Patterson during the attempted robbery at Twice Daily in Smyrna.

Rutherford County District Attorney Jennings Jones told WGNS News… Williams, who turns 34 this month, is scheduled to appear before Rutherford County Circuit Court Judge James Turner this October.

MORE: Williams was convicted in Williamson County this past August (2024) on an aggravated robbery charge for the hold-up that took place three days before the murder of Patterson at the Smyrna gas station. In Brentwood, he robbed a Shell gas station on Franklin Road near I-65. He was also convicted of aggravated kidnapping and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon in that crime.

Around 30 days later, in September of last year, Williams was back in a courtroom — this time before a different judge in a different county. In Nashville, he was convicted for a hold-up that occurred on August 30, 2022, the same day as the Smyrna shooting. The Davidson County conviction included two counts of aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated assault, and one count of possessing a firearm after previously being convicted of a crime involving a deadly weapon.

Williams was on parole when the robberies occurred in 2022. His parole was tied to a Nashville extortion and coercion of a witness conviction.

2022  SMYRNA CASE: After family and friends learned of Patterson’s death on the morning of August 30, 2022, several gathered in the parking lot of Twice Daily to pray not only for their loved one, but also for Smyrna police and that their investigation would lead to an arrest.

Less than ten days after the murder, the gas station where Patterson worked held a fundraiser to help cover the cost of funeral expenses. The community helped raise over $7,000 in a 24-hour period.

DISCLAIMER: All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The arrest records or information about an arrest that are published or reported on NewsRadio WGNS and www.WGNSradio.com are not an indication of guilt or evidence that an actual crime has been committed.