Jury finds man pardoned by fmr. Gov. Matt Bevin guilty in federal murder case

LONDON, Ky. (WKYT) - A jury has found Patrick Baker guilty.

The federal case against the southern Kentucky man, who was pardoned on his state charges, was put in the hands of a jury at the federal courthouse in London late Tuesday.

Baker’s trial began two weeks ago

The jury deliberated for about two hours Tuesday and went back in just before 9 Wednesday morning. The guilty verdict came early Wednesday afternoon after hours of deliberation.

Baker was accused, now convicted, of murdering Donald Mills during a drug crime in May 2014.

Prosecutors say Baker shot and killed the Knox County man inside his home because Baker was trying to steal Mills’s drug stash. The defense claimed another man committed the crime.

“He was a father, and at the time of his murder his wife was 4 weeks pregnant. None of us knew,” said Melinda Mills, Donald Mills’s sister.

Baker was tried and convicted of murder in Knox Circuit Court in 2017 and sentenced to 19 years but pardoned by then-Governor Matt Bevin in a flurry of pardons right before he left office in 2019.

However, weeks after that pardon, the ATF started their own investigation that culminated in Baker being charged federally in June of this year.

“I’ll never forget it. He was pardoned on my birthday. So, I will never forget that,” Melinda Mills said. “When he sentenced, he will be sentenced only daughters’ birthday December 21.”

The jury had asked several questions of the court, the last being if they could see transcripts of the testimony of several witnesses. The judge said those would take too long to prepare and that the jury needs to go by their memory of what they heard.

“Before they read the verdict my heart sank, but when they read guilty, tears of joy,” Melinda said. “It’s been a long time coming. A long year and a half.”

Baker faces life in prison. Sentencing will be on December 21.

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