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NATCHEZ — Christopher Randall was 25 on Sept. 7, 2019, when he was arrested and charged with the shooting death of Christopher Lionel White Jr. and the attempted murder of LaRhonda R. Ware.

Thursday afternoon, a Sixth District Circuit Court jury in Adams County found Randall guilty of those crimes. Judge Debra Blackwell sentenced him to life in prison for the first-degree murder of White and 20 years and a five-year firearms enhancement for the aggravated assault of Ware.

Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said he is proud of the work his team did in preparing the case against Randall.

“It has been four years in the making, and we are all glad to see the victim’s family get some justice, even though you can never replace a loved one,” Patten said.

The sheriff congratulated the Sixth District Attorney Shameca Collins and her office. “The DA’s office did a good job prosecuting this case. Closing arguments were very good,” he said.

According to reports, Randall was the ex-boyfriend of Ware, and the two had recently broken up. He was allegedly jealous of the friendship between White and Ware. On Sept. 6, 2019, he and White had exchanged words, newspaper reports said.

Later that night, Randall and an unidentified juvenile drove to 16 Tasha Drive, where White and Ware were sitting on a porch. Randall left his truck down the street from the residence.

Randall was found guilty of opening fire on both of them, killing White and shooting Ware multiple times. She recovered from her injuries.

“Love shouldn’t hurt, and it definitely shouldn’t kill. One family had to bury a loved one, one woman’s life is forever changed, and another man will spend the rest of his life in prison because of a jealous rage,” said Sixth District Attorney Shameca Collins.

Collins added a special thanks to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office for its work on the case.