Associated Press
CLAYTON, Mo. — A Missouri man was sentenced Wednesday to life plus another 40 years in prison in the 2019 shooting death of a suburban St. Louis police officer.
Bonette Meeks, 29, was convicted in June of second-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful possession of a firearm and resisting arrest in the killing of North County Police Cooperative Officer Michael Langsdorf.
Prosecutors said Meeks was trying to cash a stolen check at a market in the St. Louis County community of Wellston on June 23, 2019, when Langsdorf arrived to investigate and that he shot the officer as they struggled.
Defense attorneys sought a minimum sentence of 10 years, while prosecutors asked for two life sentences plus 17 years.
Langsdorf was a 17-year law enforcement veteran and father of two teenagers.
His parents, fiancé and daughter all testified at the sentencing hearing.
A psychologist testified for the defense about how being incarcerated as a youth had affected Meeks. The five-time prior felon was incarcerated in North Carolina from the age of 16 until he was 24.