Former Ishpeming Man Convicted of Killing Fellow Inmate

A young man who once lived in Ishpeming, already in federal prison, will spend more time behind bars for manslaughter.

21-year-old Jason Tolen was in a Chicago federal prison last March when he beat a fellow inmate to death.

Tolen was charged with 2nd-degree murder in the death of 32-year-old Jason Katz of South Bend, Indiana.

But Tolen has been convicted of voluntary manslaughter.

He could face up to 15 years, and he’ll get his sentence in mid-April.

At the time of the attack, Tolen was serving 17 months in federal prison for receiving stolen firearms.

He was living in Ishpeming in May 2007 when he was one of 3 young men involved in a break-in at Wilderness Sports.

A half-dozen 9-millimeter handguns were stolen.

Police later recovered all of the guns.

When he attacked Katz, Tolen was 2 months away from being released from prison to a halfway house.