ST. LOUIS • A St. Louis man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for a 2008 fatal shooting near the Edward Jones Dome, in which he fled and a vague suspect description led to officers shooting a different man they thought was the suspect.

Justin F. Johnson Jr., 26, of the 1700 block of South Tucker Boulevard, was found guilty after a bench trial in December of first-degree murder, first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action.

St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Philip Heagney on Friday gave him life without parole on the first count, and 15 concurrent years on each of the other three.

Johnson fatally shot Terryl Morgan, 27, of Madison, at Ninth and Cole streets on Dec. 1, 2008. Morgan's friend, Keila Nunn, was also shot at but not hit.

Police broadcast a suspect description of a black man, wearing a red coat and a white hat. Two police officers found Randy Hill, 45, walking nearby, on his way home from a factory job.

Hill was wearing the same color jacket and had a white lunch bag, according to court documents. When the bag slipped and he went to grab it, the officers fired four times, wounding Hill in the knee and side.

Officers Beary Bowles and Brian Strehl were cleared in the shooting. The department settled with Hill, who had been unarmed, for $400,000 in spring 2010.  

Johnson, who was an acquaintance of Morgan's, was ultimately linked to the crime by the gun used. He was also identified by witnesses in a police lineup, and his fingerprints were found on Morgan's car.

Assistant Circuit Attorney Sean O'Hagan on Friday called the crime particularly "callous" and "calculated" because Johnson shot at Nunn as she was driving her wounded friend away from the scene.

Johnson, at the sentencing, proclaimed his innocence and argued he had ineffective counsel, which Heagney determined was not the case.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect spelling of an officer's name. This version has been corrected.