{"id":9047,"date":"2026-05-27T06:40:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T06:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=9047"},"modified":"2026-05-27T06:40:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T06:40:54","slug":"man_who_killed_terrell_police_officer_sentenced_to_life_after_guilty_plea-html","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=9047","title":{"rendered":"Terrell officer killing suspect gets life after guilty plea \u2013 NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

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The man who admitted to killing a Terrell police officer during a traffic stop in 2024 was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.<\/p>\n

A Kaufman County judge handed down the sentence to Darrian Johnson within minutes of his court appearance, after he pleaded guilty to the fatal shooting of Officer Jacob Candanoza.<\/p>\n

On Dec. 8, 2024, Johnson shot Candanoza several times during a traffic stop off Highway 34 in Terrell and fled the scene, authorities said. <\/p>\n

According to Terrell Police at the time<\/a>, Candanoza gave the responding officers the suspect’s license plate information, which helped in the investigation. Off-duty officers and Texas state troopers later spotted the vehicle in the Canton area in Van Zandt County, about 30 miles east of Terrell and eventually caught Johnson and charged him with capital murder.<\/p>\n

The case was resolved nearly two years later without a trial because Johnson filed a guilty plea.<\/p>\n

Cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom on Wednesday, but family members of the fallen officer addressed Johnson during victim impact statements.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even think you realize what a horrible thing you did,\u201d Candanoza\u2019s father, David Candanoza, told Johnson. \u201cI hope you have a long time in there to think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candanoza\u2019s family said they were relieved to avoid a lengthy trial that would have forced them to relive the loss. It was also the first time they came face-to-face with Johnson since the shooting.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally just looking at a monster, to be honest with you,\u201d David Candanoza told NBC 5 after the sentencing. \u201cHe did something horrible, and he\u2019s just sitting there. Now he\u2019s got to go think about that. I hope you live to be 200 [years old]. Just never get out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officer Candanoza, who served with the Terrell Police Department, was early in his law enforcement career. He was also a husband, father, and son. He was killed in the line of duty just days before his 29th birthday.<\/p>\n

Terrell Police Chief Arley Sansom was visibly overcome with emotion while speaking with the media outside the courtroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll change our community forever,\u201d Sansom said. \u201cIt\u2019ll change our department forever. There won\u2019t be a day we don\u2019t remember that loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Candanoza\u2019s family said their focus now is on preserving his legacy. In a recent feature with NBC 5<\/a>, they showed a memorial they are creating for him and an effort to collect police patches from departments across the country to place inside “Jacob’s Box.”<\/p>\n

If you would like to send a patch for the box, please mail it to:<\/p>\n

ATTN: David Candanoza
Cedar Hill Roller Rink
202 N Main St
Cedar Hill, TX 75104<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe man who killed Terrell police Officer Jacob Candanoza during a December 2024 traffic stop pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life without parole. Candanoza\u2019s family and Terrell police leaders said the sentence brings a measure of justice, though the grief remains. NBC 5\u2019s Alicia Barrera has more.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The man who admitted to killing a Terrell police officer during a traffic stop in 2024 was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A Kaufman…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":9048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nTerrell officer killing suspect gets life after guilty plea \u2013 NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth - Frisco Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A judge sentenced Darrian Johnson to life without parole after he admitted killing Terrell Officer Jacob Candanoza during a 2024 traffic stop.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=9047\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Terrell officer killing suspect gets life after guilty plea \u2013 NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth - 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