FAYETTE, Miss (AP) — A Mississippi man has received a maximum 40-year sentence for the killing of an off-duty state Highway Patrol officer.
Damion Whittley, 27, of Natchez, was sentenced Tuesday for the slaying of Troy Morris. Circuit Judge Tomika H. Irving said Whittley must serve at least 30 years of his sentence before he could be considered for parole.
Morris’ body was found Aug. 7, 2020, on the side of U.S. Highway 61 near Fayette, Mississippi.
Whittley pleaded guilty to depraved heart murder, a classification that generally refers to a killing committed with indifference to human life.
At the time of his death, Morris had been working his part-time job with the U.S. Postal Service. Morris was driving his Postal Service truck until about 4 a.m. when he got a flat tire on the highway. He called the Highway Patrol and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department to report the flat and asked if someone could be dispatched to watch the truck while he waited for a replacement vehicle. When a deputy arrived, he found Morris shot to death inside his truck.
Whittley was subsequently arrested in New Orleans. Morris, of Natchez, was a 27-year veteran of the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
In a news release, District Attorney Daniella M. Shorter said the conviction and sentence reflect her pledge to deal with violent crimes in a “harsh, straightforward manner.”
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