The man convicted of murdering an off-duty Mississippi Highway Patrolman has been sentenced.
46-year-old Troy Eaton will spend 30 years in prison for the September 2018 shooting death of Josh Smith in Tippah County. According to the Daily Journal, testimony during the trial revealed that Eaton was high on meth and trying to sell the drug when he killed the off-duty trooper who had asked him to leave.
A jury recently found Eaton guilty on a second-degree murder charge and an aggravated assault charge after another man was injured in the shooting. Eaton was sentenced to 20 years on the aggravated assault charge with the sentences running concurrently.
Eaton initially faced a capital murder charge, but it was reduced when it became apparent that Smith was not on-duty at the time.
Smith had served as a trooper within the Mississippi Highway Patrol since 2007 and was an active member of the S.W.A.T. team.
