Man sentenced to life for fatal shooting of North Texas officer; victim's father says, "He took away my oldest son"

A Mississippi man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the 2024 capital murder of a Terrell police officer.

Darrian Cortez Johnson pleaded guilty to the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Officer Jacob Candanoza ahead of his trial, which moved to the sentencing phase on Wednesday.

Within less than five minutes into the hearing, Johnson received life without the possibility of parole for Candanoza's death.

Candanoza's family was present when his punishment was handed down.

"He took away my oldest son," Jacob Candanoza's father, David Candanoza, said after the sentencing. "I think the world is a sadder place without Jacob in it."

Traffic stop turns deadly

In December 2024, Candanoza initiated a traffic stop on a pickup truck with expired tags in the 1600 block of S. State Highway 34, a motel parking lot in Terrell. 

According to the Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office, Candanoza requested a cover unit, and shortly after units were dispatched, dispatch received 9-1-1 calls that an officer had been shot.

When officers arrived on scene, along with the Terrell Fire Department, Candanoza was found and transported to Baylor Scott & White in Forney, where he later died from his injuries.

The suspect, later identified as Johnson, was arrested at an RV park in Canton after an hours-long search, the sheriff's office said.

Candanoza had been a police officer with the Terrell Police Department since July 2024.