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Man gets life for fatally shooting Indiana police officer

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) – A man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for fatally shooting an Indiana police officer sitting in his patrol car.

Carl Le’Ellis Blount learned his sentence Wednesday after pleading guilty to murder last month in the July 6, 2014, slaying of Gary Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield.

The 47-year-old officer had been dispatched to investigate reports Blount had been involved in an altercation with an ex-girlfriend.

In a brief statement in court, the 28-year-old Blount offered condolences to Westerfield’s family, including four daughters and a son.

Under a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop other charges against Blount, including theft and battery, and won’t prosecute him in connection with a double slaying about 10 days before Westerfield’s death. The plea agreement provided no details about those killings.

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