Chicago Man Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Multiple Break-Ins
A Chicago man with a lengthy criminal record spanning four decades has been sentenced to six years in prison after committing a series of break-ins less than 48 hours after his release from the Illinois Department of Corrections.
According to Illinois Department of Corrections records, this marks the 21st through 25th times that 59-year-old Vance Patton has been sentenced to prison, with the majority of his convictions being for burglary offenses.
Prosecutors revealed that Patton wasted no time in returning to his criminal ways after being released from the Graham Correctional Center in Hillsboro on March 20, 2025. By the morning of March 22, he was already back in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, where surveillance footage captured him breaking into businesses by throwing bricks through windows and stealing small amounts of cash and soda.
Patton was caught on camera breaking into a storage facility and a nearby convenience store, where he stole a single dollar from the register and five cans of soda. He was apprehended by police shortly after a resident reported a suspicious individual in their backyard, carrying stolen items and wearing a face covering and gloves.
Following his arrest, Patton pleaded guilty to the recent burglaries as well as three other incidents from the previous year. Judges Terry Gallagher and Natosha Toller sentenced him to concurrent terms of three to six years on each count. With credit for good behavior, he is expected to be eligible for parole in March 2028.
Patton’s criminal history includes a total of 25 prison sentences, dating back to the 1980s. His offenses primarily consist of burglaries, along with convictions for possessing a stolen vehicle, criminal damage to property, and possession of burglary tools. Prior to his latest crime spree, his most recent burglary conviction was in 2021 for breaking into a Dunkin’ and a soul food restaurant while on parole.
