Man Pardoned 7 Years Ago By Governor Sentenced To 42 Years In Prison For Drug Robbery Killing

A Kentucky man pardoned seven years ago for killing a man during a home invasion is headed back to prison for the very same crime.

Patrick Baker was convicted of murder by a federal jury and sentenced to 42 years in prison for killing Donald Mills in a drug-related robbery in 2014, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced late Tuesday. Former Republican Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin previously pardoned Baker in 2019 for the same crime, the Associated Press reported.

Baker was able to be prosecuted without violating double jeopardy protections due to the “dual sovereignty doctrine,” which allows state and federal authorities to prosecute a person for the same crime, according to the AP.

Baker entered Mills’ house in search of oxycodone pills while posing as a U.S. Marshal, according to the DOJ, and he held Mills and his family at gunpoint while searching for the drugs. Baker later shot Mills during the home invasion.

“The simple truth of this case is that Patrick Baker was found guilty of planning and committing an armed home invasion, to acquire drugs, where he shot and killed Donald Mills,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky Carlton Shier said in a statement, according to the DOJ. “Baker was convicted of a brazen act of violence – one that resulted in a murder, committed while the victim’s family was nearby.”

Bevin issued the pardon one year after Baker’s brother and sister-in-law raised over $20,000 for his campaign debt, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. Bevin has denied that the fundraising had any effect on his decision to grant Baker clemency.