Man gets life without parole for killing of Aiken officer

A man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to killing an Aiken police officer in a shooting more than three years ago.

Multiple media outlets report that Stephon Carter accepted a plea deal Monday, the day testimony in his death penalty trial was supposed to start. In exchange, he agreed to the life sentence and to drop any appeals.

Officer Scotty Richardson was living in Lexington County when he was shot in a December 2011 traffic stop as police investigated a nearby shooting. Richardson was commuting to Aiken and planning to move there with his family. Richardson’s wife told the judge she worried about her husband, but felt he was safe in a place like Aiken.

Prosecutors say they accepted the plea deal to make sure Carter never got out of prison.

Carter apologized for taking away a son, father and officer.

The State newspaper contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 2, 2015 at 5:50 PM.