NATCHEZ (AP) — Christopher Lee Baxter was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole today after a jury found him guilty of capital murder for his role in the 2010 death of George County Sheriff Garry Welford.

Baxter, 26, and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Brandy Nicole Williams, were both charged with capital murder and accused of running over and killing Welford on July 21, 2010, with a maroon Chevrolet Z71 pickup truck during a high-speed chase.

Williams will be tried Aug. 27 in Lafayette County.

Though convicted of capital murder, Baxter was ineligible for the death penalty because the court previously ruled he was mentally retarded.

Baxter’s trial began Monday at the Adams County Courthouse under special Judge Richard McKenzie.

The jury began deliberating around 1:50 p.m. and returned its guilty verdict three hours later.

“It’s an incredibly emotional moment,” District Attorney Tony Lawrence said after the trial. “Garry was a good friend; he was a true public servant for George County,” he said.

“We’re proud of the verdict.”

The Welford family, who did not wish to comment, has “been waiting a long time to hear that Garry didn’t have anything to do with this,” Lawrence said.

Defense attorney Tom Fortner said he intends to appeal the verdict.

“We’re real disappointed in the verdict,” he said. “We thought at best the state had proven a manslaughter case, not a capital murder case.”

Through several emotional days of testimony, the state called more than a dozen witnesses to lay out a timeline of events from July 19, 2010, to July 22, 2010.