ST. LOUIS, MO  (September 11, 2026) — Kenneth Howard, 60, was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for breaking into a home in the City’s North Hampton neighborhood while a woman was inside.

A St. Louis jury found Howard guilty in July of first-degree burglary and second-degree property damage for the January 5, 2026, incident in the 5000 block of Lindenwood Avenue. The jury also found Howard to be a prior and persistent offender based on his previous felony conviction.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the home after receiving a report of a prowler attempting to get inside. A 26-year-old woman told officers Howard paced around her front porch, knocked over a flowerpot, and tried the front door handle before breaking the screen off a window, opening it, and reaching his hand inside. Fearing for her safety, the woman fled the home.

The woman provided officers with surveillance video showing Howard pacing around the porch. Officers broadcast a description of the suspect, searched the area, and located Howard nearby. The woman positively identified Howard as the man who attempted to enter her home.

In 1997, Howard was convicted of second-degree murder, first-degree burglary, and armed criminal action and sentenced to life in prison plus 115 years. He was later released on parole by the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole.

“Burglary is more than a crime against property. It is an intrusion that can fundamentally change how someone feels in the place they call home,” Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said. “This defendant has demonstrated a continued willingness to commit serious crimes. This sentence removes a convicted murderer from the streets of St. Louis and makes the community safer.”

Assistant Circuit Attorney Isabella Zoog, Assistant Circuit Attorney Andrew Bennett, and Deputy Chief of Homicide Carolyn Chkautovich prosecuted the case.

The defendant’s case number is 2622-CR00047-01.