Six weeks after a jury convicted him of fatally shooting his uncle and injuring his cousin, James Francis Montano has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Judge Leslie Beiers of Minnesota's Sixth Judicial District delivered the mandatory sentence this week for an April 2018 incident in which the 34-year-old of Bayfield, Wis., shot and killed his uncle, Andrew James Gokee, with a small-caliber rifle as he was leaving his home in Progress Township, Minn. Montano also injured Gokee's son, Hudson Gauthier, in the shooting.

Law enforcement found Montano after a four-hour search and arrested him.

A 12-person jury in Carlton County found Montano guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree murder and attempted first-degree premeditated murder after nearly a week of testimony in January.

Beiers sentenced Montano to life imprisonment for first-degree premeditated murder and added a consecutive 15 years on the charge of attempted first-degree premeditated murder.

Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketolawas not available for comment, but she praised the January jury verdict convicting Montano on three felony charges.

James Francis Montano

Henry Erlandson