Jordan gets 50 years in shooting of 2 state workers in Jackson

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) - A judge sentenced a man already facing execution to 50 years in prison for wounding two state employees during a shooting spree that left his estranged wife and two others dead.

David Lynn Jordan, 42, was sentenced to death last month for the Jan. 11, 2005, slayings of Donna Renee Jordan, Jerry Hopper and David Gordon when he opened fire in a Tennessee Department of Transportation garage.

Madison County Circuit Court Judge Roy B. Morgan Jr. gave the maximum 25-year sentence Monday on each of the two counts of attempted first-degree murder for wounding TDOT employees James Goff and Larry Taylor.

The judge ruled the sentences be served consecutively. He also added the maximum six years on each of two counts of aggravated assault, and 30 days for leaving the scene - but those sentences will run concurrently with the sentences for attempted murder.

"If ever there was a case for imposing a maximum sentence, this is one," Morgan said. Taylor said a day doesn't pass without him thinking about the shooting. "My family tell me I'm not the same person," he said. "My wife and I don't get along as well as we once did, and they tell me I get upset a lot more."

Goff said the shooting has strained his relations with his family and that he has needed sleeping pills and a psychologist. He doesn't like being in crowds and feels threatened daily.

District Public Defender George Googe said the defense will ask for a new trial at a hearing April 17. That is why Morgan rescheduled Jordan's execution date from Jan. 15 to June 15.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)