COLUMBUS (AP) — A man has been sentenced to five years in prison for providing the gun used in a shooting that killed two Westerville police officers earlier this year.
Prosecutors sought the 5-year prison term for defendant Gerald Lawson, saying Lawson knew that Quentin Smith, his lifelong friend, had a violent past that prohibited him from buying or owning a gun.
Federal judge Edmund Sargus handed down the sentence Thursday.
Defense attorneys wanted six months of house arrest, followed by three years of probation.
Officers Anthony Morelli and Eric Joering were shot Feb. 11 responding to a 911 hang-up call at a townhome in the Columbus suburb where Smith lived.
Smith was indicted in March on charges that carry the possibility of a death sentence. He has pleaded not guilty.