SUNSET HILLS -- A man has been arrested for the murder of a Sunset Hills woman, who was found shot to death in her home at the beginning of June.
67-year-old Mark Douglas Patton has been charged with robbing then murdering 86-year-old Terry Tobey at her home in the 12000 block of Bradford Woods.
Sunset Hills police say that Patton entered Tobey's home on June 4 and forced her to write him a check at gunpoint. After Tobey had written a check, Patton shot and killed her.
Patton rented property from Tobey.
Patton has been charged with murder in the second degree, burglary in the first degree and two counts of armed criminal action.
Patton is being held at the St. Louis County Jail and bond is set at $500,000.
According to St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, Patton's criminal history started in the late 1960's.
Patton was sent to prison for 35 years after being convicted of a violent kidnapping and assault. McCulloch says Patton served less than 10 years and was paroled.
McCulloch says this case is a prime example of why the state needed to pass the recent Truth in Sentencing legislation that forces offenders to serve 85% of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
McCulloch says, Patton broke his parole, was sent back to prison, was granted parole and then broke it again.
He says, it is a criminal pattern that stretches on for decades.
Tobey's death is not the only crime Patton is currently accused of.
In Jefferson County, Patton has been out on bond for over a year on felony theft charges. According to the Jefferson County prosecuting attorney, Patton allegedly stole 65 razor cartridges; well over $1,000 worth of merchandise,.
Patton and his attorney were scheduled for several plea hearings late in 2014 but many of them had to be cancelled and rescheduled because Patton's attorney, Andrew Hale, never showed up for them.
In January 2015, Hale killed himself, setting the resolution of Patton's case back.
Still, McCulloch doesn't blame the lengthy legal process for Tobey's death.
"The people responsible for a murder are the people who commit the murder," said McCulloch. "There are all sorts of what if's in this world, but the bottom line is; he's the guy who pulled the trigger, and so that's where the responsibility lies."
