MARION COUNTY — A September jury trial date for a 44-year-old Chicago Heights man charged with the murder of a Centralia woman was confirmed Tuesday in Marion County.

Lorenzo Patton could potentially be sentenced to life in prison if a jury convicts him of the September 2018 shooting death of Precious Jones in her Centralia home.

Patton is charged with first degree murder and as a habitual criminal, there is the possibility of mandatory life in prison. He could also receive a 25-year to natural life sentence enhancement due to a firearm being used in the commission of the crime.

Attorneys in the case confirmed in court Tuesday a September 16 jury trial setting, with a September 5 final pretrial hearing.

According to court records, Patton shot Jones twice – once in the back and once in the chest — and in doing so either intended to kill or do great bodily harm or knew such an act would cause Jones’ death. She was found dead in the early morning hours of September 22, by a person entering her home in the 400 block of Anderson Street in Centralia.

Patton has pleaded not guilty to the charge against him. He remains in the Marion County Jail with bail set at $2 million. He pleaded guilty earlier this month to a Class 3 felony charg in Coles County for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to two and a half years in the Department of Corrections.

Patton was in the Coles County Jail on that charge when he was arrested on a Marion County warrant charging him with Jones’ murder.