Judge to decide if killer, 17, off to adult prison

VANDALIA — A southern Illinois teenager sentenced to life in prison in the shooting deaths of two of his neighbors may soon learn if he’ll be transferred to an adult lockup.

The Effingham Daily News reports that a judge in Fayette County was to have a hearing last week on the incarceration of Clifford Baker of Loogootee.

Baker turned 17 on Dec. 18 and now is eligible to be transferred from juvenile corrections to an adult prison.

But Judge Michael McHaney postponed that decision, giving attorneys who’ve represented Baker time to sort out whether they’ll still do so.

The hearing will be held April 27.

Baker was sentenced to life in prison last year in the 2010 shooting deaths of Debra Tish and Mike Mahon. He’s appealing the conviction.