CENTREVILLE, Mich. — A man already sentenced to life in prison for a killing in Kalamazoo County has been sentenced for a second killing in St. Joseph County. Both happened on the same day.
Zachary Patten was jury-convicted on May 17th of charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, home invasion and felony firearm for the 2017 death of Shane Richardson. On Friday afternoon, a St. Joseph County judge sentenced Patten – who is 34 – for those charges.
The court says Patten was sentenced to:
Patten previously had been sentenced to life behind bars for gunning down 31-year-old Graciella Portillo-Esparza in July 2017. Police had said Patten got into an argument with Portillo-Esparza’s brother, and when the mother of four got between them Patten shot her.
Investigators say Patten then drove to St. Joseph County, where he killed his ex-wife’s husband, Shane Richardson, who was 29. That happened in Florence Township, near Constantine.
Patter later drove to Indiana and turned himself in.
