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A Chicago man with a criminal history spanning four decades has been sentenced to six years in state prison following a conviction for breaking into two businesses less than 48 hours after his most recent release from the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Vance Patton, aged 59, admitted guilt to five counts of burglary, including two offenses on March 22, just two days after leaving Graham Correctional Center. Cook County Judge Terry Gallagher delivered the concurrent sentences on Monday, resulting in a total effective term of six years.
Under Illinois’ day-for-day credit system, Patton will be eligible for parole on March 17, 2028.
A booking photo of Vance Patton from March 23, 2025, is provided by the Chicago Police Department.
According to prosecutors, Patton, who has been convicted of burglary 20 times, shattered a window at a storage facility near 1900 West 95th Street, managing to steal just one dollar from the cash register. He then proceeded across the street to Flippin Flavors, where he broke in and took five cans of soda. Police apprehended him nearby, charging him with burglary.
The recent break-ins capped a career of nearly back-to-back property crimes dating back to the 1980s.
According to Illinois DOC records, Patton has been sentenced to prison 25 times, including 20 burglary convictions and others for vehicle theft and criminal damage to property.
Vance Patton seen in a Feb. 1, 2022, booking photo. (Chicago Police Department)
This pattern of immediate reoffending is not new for Patton. In a 2011 Illinois Appellate Court decision reviewed by Fox News Digital, the court recounted that Patton committed another burglary just six days after being released from prison on Dec. 20, 2007.
According to court records, he was placed on a three-year term of mandatory supervised release after serving a burglary sentence, but on Dec. 26, 2007, he broke into another property and was arrested the following day.
The 2007 case highlights Patton’s longstanding pattern of recidivism, mirroring his more recent conduct in 2024, when prosecutors said he committed two burglaries less than 48 hours after his release from Graham Correctional Center.
Vance Patton seen in a September 2021 booking photo. (Chicago Police Department)
Court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show Patton’s latest release came March 20 from Graham Correctional Center, where he had been serving time for another burglary conviction.
Two days later, Beverly business owners arrived to find broken glass and merchandise missing.
Vance Patton in a November 2016 booking photo. (Chicago Police Department)
Patton has spent much of his adult life behind bars, cycling through the Cook County Jail and multiple Illinois prisons. Despite his extensive record, prosecutors said, the low dollar amounts in his recent crimes limited the charges to Class 2 felonies.
With credit for time served, Patton could serve about half his six-year term before release. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Chicago Police Department and the 19th Ward for comment.