By Associated Press - Wednesday, January 11, 2017

BARTOW, Fla. (AP) - An inmate convicted of killing a central Florida jail guard has been sentenced to life in prison.

The Ledger (https://goo.gl/hUzbXr ) reports that 35-year-old Terrence Barnett was sentenced Wednesday. He was convicted in September 2015 of first-degree murder. Barnett’s life sentence will begin after the 30-year term he’s already serving for an unrelated murder.

Authorities say Polk County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ronnie Brown was trying to restrain Barnett after the agitated inmate had snapped off a sprinkler head in his cell, causing water to spray. Witnesses say Barnett shoved Brown into a wall, causing him to break his back. He died a week later from a blood clot.



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Information from: The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.), https://www.theledger.com

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