A cop-killer convicted in July in the crash death of a Cathedral City, California police officer five years ago was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison on Friday.
Officer Jermaine Gibson died on March 18, 2011 in the high-speed pursuit that reached 85 to 100 miles an hour and lasted nine minutes before it ended in a fiery crash when the patrol car slammed into a palm tree off of South Palm Canyon Road, according to The Press-Enterprise.
Durjan Germaine Gray, who was behind the wheel of the stolen Ford Mustang that night, was charged with second degree murder.
"I think it was best said by Mr. Gibson's father, If you had just stopped, we wouldn't be here today," Judge W. Charles Morgan said during Gray's sentencing.
During the sentencing hearing, Cathedral City Police Detective Alfredo Luna told the court that because of the nature of police work, there are a lot of bad days, but Officer Gibson "brought a lot of humor, a lot of friendship" to the job and his death.
Gibson was survived by his wife, Jessica, and son, Jermaine Jr., who was only five months old at the time of his death.
