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Matt Frank Hoover, who is being charged in the murder of Provo police officer Joseph Shinners and faces additional felony charges, enters the 4th District Court for his initial appearance on Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, in Provo.

Evan Cobb, Daily Herald file photo

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Officer Joseph William Shinners, who was killed in duty Jan. 5, 2019.

Courtesy Provo Police Department

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Four months after a jury trial, the man found guilty of aggravated murder in the killing of Provo police officer Joseph Shinners in 2019 was sentenced to life without parole Tuesday.

Matt Hoover was found guilty in March, more than five years after Shinners’ death. Hoover also was found guilty on charges of failure to follow the commands of police, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm as a restricted person.

Hoover also received three additional sentences for the other charges Tuesday, each with prison terms of zero to five years to run consecutively.

Provo District Judge Kraig Powell, who issued the sentence, described Hoover’s criminal history as “serious, extensive and cruel.”

Powell said Hoover had received numerous charges dating back to before he was an adult, with that pattern continuing into adulthood.

“I don’t believe Mr. Hoover learned from his mistakes,” Powell said, a factor for the judge in not granting the possibility of parole.

“We can not have people behave like this in society,” Powell said, adding the type of behavior demonstrated by Hoover deserves the maximum sentences.

Provo Police Chief Troy Beebe; Kaylyn Shinners, the officer’s wife; and other family members addressed the judge before the sentencing of Hoover, expressing their feelings of loss after officer Shinners’ death.

Family members were emotional while speaking to the judge, often describing happy life moments over the past five years as “bittersweet” without Shinners.

“All my moments of happiness and joy are also moments of sadness because Joe is not there to share them with me,” Kaylyn Shinners said tearfully. She added that her two young sons face the greatest hurt as they grow up without their father.

Beebe said Hoover’s actions had left a “trail of devastation and heartache” and caused “unspeakable grief” to his family.

“Hoover took a father, a brother, a son and a spouse,” he said. “He also took a beloved public servant.”

In a statement after the sentencing, the Provo Police Department said the loss of Shinners left an “irreplaceable void in his family’s lives, our police department and city.”

“Justice is accountability. Today, we thank Judge Powell for upholding accountability through issuance of the maximum sentence possible — recognizing the gravity of loss for Joe’s family and our greater community,” the statement continued. “In the words of Joe’s widow, Kaylyn: ‘Our police officers and their families need to know that as a society, we do not condone the killing of our police officers.'”

Hoover also was given the opportunity to address the judge, where he apologized to the family, saying it wasn’t his intention to kill Shinners.

“I know what it’s like to lose family. It hurts,” he said. “This was never my intention. I never intended to harm anyone.”

Throughout the trial, the defense argued that Hoover was attempting to commit suicide when Shinners was shot, arguing it was not his intent to harm another person.

Shinners was killed Jan. 5, 2019, outside of an Orem shopping center when he and several other Provo and Orem police officers were attempting to arrest Hoover on outstanding drug warrants.

Shinners was shot in the chest after jumping in the passenger side of a pickup truck that Hoover attempted to flee in after officers surrounded the vehicle. Police had ordered him to exit the truck before he attempted to drive away and Shinners jumped in after an Orem officer.