A Reading man is being sought by U.S. marshals and Berks County authorities after they say he skipped a hearing in a 2021 drug-related killing when he realized he was going to be taken into custody.
Kadrise Patience, 30, of the 800 block of North Fifth Street was declared a fugitive after he fled prior to a Nov. 13 status hearing before Berks Judge Patrick Barrett.
Patience is charged with first- and third-degree murder and related counts in the fatal shooting of Orlando Rodriguez, 32, of Kenhorst in Reading on June 17, 2021.
Rodriguez was shot multiple times and later died of his injuries at Reading Hospital after being rushed there in a private vehicle by a relative, investigators said.
“This is a violent offender that needs to be taken back into custody to face justice for his involvement in this homicide,” District Attorney John T. Adams said Wednesday.
Kadrise Patience is wanted in a 2021 murder case in Reading. (Courtesy of U.S. Marshals Service)
Adams said authorities believe Patience, who has a criminal history involving drug offenses, is in the southeastern Pennsylvania area.
“We’re concentrating the search in southeast PA, but we may be expanding that search area,” he said. “He needs to be arrested and taken back to jail.”
Adams said anyone with information about Patience’s whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Alert Berks County.
Tipsters can call 877-373-9913 anytime or contact Crime Alert at its website at https://crimealertberks.org/ or via the AlertBerks smartphone app. No one will ask the name of the caller, who will be assigned a code number.
Adams said Barrett dismissed charges against Patience following a pretrial hearing on April 25, 2024. Barrett granted a defense request to dismiss the charges, ruling prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to support the charges.
As a result of the ruling, Adams said Patience, who had been held in Berks County Jail without bail, was released.
“We appealed that decision, and we were very successful,” Adams said. “The Superior Court reversed that decision April 15, 2025. After that, the defendant appealed to the Supreme Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied the appeal, which led to the charges being reinstated in early November.”
While the appeal was pending, Patience was required to report to court periodically to check on the status of the appeal, Adams said.
He said Patience was complying with those check-ins.
“He was scheduled for court Nov. 25,” Adams said. “He appeared in the courthouse, but as soon as he realized that he was going to be taken back into custody, he absconded prior to being taken back into custody.”
While Patience’s case was pending, Adams noted, Magnum Morrison, 28, of the 1000 block of Windsor Street was found guilty in March of conspiracy to commit third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Morrison was found not guilty of first and third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
Morrison was sentenced in April to 15 to 30 years in state prison.
According to investigators:
Morrison, Patience and two other men entered a home in the 600 block of North 10th Street shortly before 12:30 a.m. on June 17, 2021, and Rodriguez was shot.
The ensuing investigation showed that the home was part of a drug ring, with officers finding about 30 pounds of marijuana and a large amount of cash inside.