Youth pastor can thank prosecutor for $150 sentence in death of teen who he let ride on the side of his moving van

Background: News footage of Rushon Patterson in court on Sept. 15, 2025 (WOIO). Inset: Malachi Nichols-Williams (GoFundMe).

An Ohio youth pastor who was found responsible for the death of a teenager he let ride on the side of his van will only have to pay a small fine.

Rushon Patterson II, 27, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and a misdemeanor count of riding on the outside of a vehicle in April, but due to a legal technicality, his most serious charge was dismissed. According to courtroom reporting by local news outlet The Repository, Patterson's defense attorney appealed the conviction after finding "there was a defect in the indictment that prior counsel had missed, and apparently the state had missed, too."

The Repository reported that "state law does not allow involuntary manslaughter to be tied to a minor misdemeanor traffic violation." As a result, the judge dismissed the involuntary manslaughter conviction, leaving only a penalty for the traffic violation — a $150 fine.

As Law&Crime previously reported, 14-year-old Malachi Nichols-Williams was one of several teenagers who rode on the side of a church van on Sept. 6, 2025. The van was being driven by Patterson, a volunteer youth pastor with the Alive Now Kidz Church, based in Canton Township, Ohio. All of the children noticed a pothole in the street and jumped off the van except for Malachi.

When Patterson drove over the pothole, Malachi was thrown off the van and onto the street, where he hit his head on the pavement. Although the boy initially stood up, he had sustained a severe brain injury and skull fracture. He later lost consciousness and was on life support for several days before he died.

Patterson was charged with reckless homicide, involuntary manslaughter, and riding on the side of a vehicle. He was convicted on the latter two charges and acquitted on the homicide charge. His defense attorneys have maintained that Patterson "feels nothing but regret and remorse for the death of somebody he cared for."

On Wednesday, Patterson's defense attorneys pointed out the error in the original indictment, which was brought by Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Dan Petricini. Petricini reportedly said during the hearing, "It has made me sick since we've discovered the error in the indictment, that he's now only going to be convicted of just this traffic offense, because I do think it demeans what occurred that day."

Petricini said, "This is my mistake as the person that brought this indictment."

More from Law&Crime: Child fatally injured after youth pastor let him and multiple kids hang onto the outside of a moving van: Police

According to The Repository, Stark County Common Pleas Judge Natalie R. Haupt said that there was evidence that could have convicted Patterson of a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter. But both sides agreed that there was no way to modify the charges against Patterson after he was already convicted.

After initially being found responsible for Malachi's death, Patterson now stands convicted of allowing the boy to ride on the side of a moving vehicle. He was ordered to pay a $150 fine.