Convicted Rochester Murderer Headed Back to Prison

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man with a lengthy criminal history that includes a murder conviction has been sentenced to a little under seven years in prison for his most recent conviction on stalking and burglary charges.

The 81-month sentence exceeds state sentencing guidelines, but was allowed because 46-year-old Mark Huyber was previously classified as a career offender through what is known as a "Blakely hearing." He was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the 1999 shooting death of a Detroit man in Rochester. Several months after his release, Huyber was placed on probation for threatening an ex-girlfriend and was later given a 21-month prison sentence for another domestic incident involving the same woman.

His latest convictions stem from a break-in at a Rochester house last June. The woman living in the residence called 911 after she returned to her home and found natural gas spewing from a severed supply line to the furnace. It was also discovered that sugar had been poured into the gas tank of a vehicle parked inside the garage. Following his arrest, Huyber admitted to breaking into the home and vandalizing the vehicle but denied he was responsible for severing the natural gas line.