A man who admitted to fatally shooting a Terrell Police Department officer during a 2024 traffic stop was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Darrian Cortez Johnson pleaded guilty to capital murder in the death of Officer Jacob Candanoza during a brief court appearance in Kaufman County. A judge handed down the sentence within minutes, avoiding a trial that had been scheduled in the case.
Candanoza was killed on December 8, 2024, after stopping a pickup truck with expired license plates in a motel parking lot along Highway 34 in Terrell, The Dallas Express reported at the time. Authorities said Johnson shot the officer multiple times before fleeing the scene.
Before he died, Candanoza was able to relay the suspect’s license plate number to responding officers, helping investigators track Johnson down hours later.
Off-duty officers and Texas state troopers later located the vehicle near Canton in Van Zandt County, about 30 miles east of Terrell. Johnson was arrested at an RV park following an hours-long search and charged with capital murder.
Candanoza’s family members addressed Johnson during victim impact statements in court on Wednesday. Cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom.
“I don’t even think you realize what a horrible thing you did,” Candanoza’s father, David Candanoza, told Johnson, per NBC 5 DFW. “I hope you have a long time in there to think about it.”
After the hearing, David Candanoza said seeing Johnson in person for the first time since the shooting was difficult.
“Really just looking at a monster, to be honest with you,” he said. “He did something horrible, and he’s just sitting there. Now he’s got to go think about that. I hope you live to be 200 [years old]. Just never get out.”
“He took away my oldest son,” David Candanoza also said after the sentencing, CBS News Texas reported. “I think the world is a sadder place without Jacob in it.”
Candanoza had been with the Terrell Police Department since July 2024 and was killed just days before his 29th birthday. He previously served as a U.S. Marine and had also worked as a deputy with the Dallas Sheriff’s Office. Family members described him as a husband, father, and son whose law-enforcement career was just beginning.
Terrell Police Chief Arley Sansom, visibly emotional outside the courthouse, said the loss continues to affect the department and the community.
“It’ll change our community forever,” Sansom said, per NBC 5. “It’ll change our department forever. There won’t be a day we don’t remember that loss.”
The city of Terrell has since renamed a section of Highway 34 in Candanoza’s honor.
Family members said they are now focused on preserving his memory through a memorial project and an effort called “Jacob’s Box,” which collects police patches from law enforcement agencies across the country for display at the family’s roller rink in Cedar Hill.
