MARION COUNTY — A 46-year-old Chicago man was sentenced Monday in Marion County Court to life in prison for the 2018 murder of a Centralia woman in her home.

Lorenzo Patton

A Marion County jury found Lorenzo Patton guilty in September of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Precious Jones.

Judge Allan Lolie denied a defense request Monday for a new trial before hearing victims impact statements and in his last court case as Marion County State’s Attorney, Bill Milner called Assistant State’s Attorney Melissa Doran to testify to aggravating factors in the case.

According to court records, Patton shot Jones twice – once in the back and once in the chest. She was found dead in the early morning hours of September 22, 2018, by a person entering her home in the 400 block of Anderson Street in Centralia.

Multiple former inmates testified in the two-day trial. Charita Lenox claimed that while she was held with Patton in the Coles County Jail, he admitted to her that he had killed Jones.