Kidney Donor Inmate May Face ‘Third Strike’
The convict who donated one of his kidneys to the daughter he deserted is being investigated for alleged heroin possession and faces a possible “third strike” conviction that could keep him behind bars for life, according to the San Francisco Examiner.
David Patterson, who is serving a seven-year sentence for burglary in New Folsom Prison, is in administrative segregation while the substance found in his cell May 18 is tested, authorities said.
Patterson, 34, underwent surgery March 12 at UC San Francisco Medical Center to have his kidney transplanted into his daughter, Renada Daniel-Patterson, 13. She is recovering well at home, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Prison spokeswoman Linda Howell said guards found the substance in Patterson’s cell during a routine search.
He was due for parole in July 1997 but, “if he’s found guilty, that might change,” Howell said. Patterson’s burglary conviction was his third felony.
He agreed to donate his kidney to his daughter after years in jail, even though he had deserted her and her mother before she was born. The 13-year-old was born with only one kidney and already had one transplant--which her body rejected--at age 5. She had been in dialysis ever since.
In a letter to his daughter in November, Patterson said he wanted “to be the daddy I should have been a long time ago.”
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