Joshua Lee Russell, 26, walks out of the Calhoun County courthouse Monday (Photo: WBMA)

By: Ed Moore III, WLJS 91.9 FM Anchor edmoorewljs@yahoo.com

Anniston, Alabama (WLJS) - The man found guilty in the 2011 killing of Anniston police officer Justin Sollohub has been sentenced to death by a Calhoun County judge.

Joshua Lee Russell 26, was sentenced to die by lethal injection Monday morning inside the courtroom of Calhoun County Circuit Court Judge Brian Howell.

Russell was found guilty of capital murder on September 16 by a Lee County jury. On September 18, the same jury voted 8-4 to recommend Russell serve life in prison without parole.

Howell, who had the final say in Russel's fate, heard testimony from Russell’s family members, who said he is remorseful for the crime, as well as deputies from the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office in Gadsden, where Russell has been held for his own protection. Deputies said the defendant has been uncooperative with jail workers and does not appear to show any signs of remorse for Sollohub's murder.

Prosecutors say Russell shot Sollohub, 27, in the head with a .22 caliber pistol during a foot chase with Sollohub near 19th Street and Moore Avenue in west Anniston on August 24, 2011. Russell was apprehended by authorities following an hours-long manhunt in the neighborhood where Sollohub was found shot.

Sollohub was airlifted to UAB in Birmingham and died of his injuries a day later.

With Russell now sentenced to death row, the Alabama Department of Corrections will decide whether he will be transferred to the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore or the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer.

This report was made through WLJS News in Jacksonville, Alabama on 12/16/2013 at 6:02 P.M.