DETROIT, June 8 (UPI) -- Self-described hit man Vincent Smothers was sentenced to 50 years for killing eight people in Detroit, including a police officer's wife, officials said.
In a plea agreement, Smothers was sentenced Monday in Circuit Court to between 50 and 100 years in prison after pleading guilty to eight counts of second-degree murder, The Detroit News reported Tuesday.
Smothers, 52, will remain in prison until he is at least 81 years old, Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Stevens said.
Smothers said he was paid to kill his victims, including Rose Cobb, the wife of former Detroit Police Sgt. David Cobb. Smothers said he shot her Dec. 26, 2007 after her husband allegedly hired him to kill her, the newspaper said.
David Cobb was arrested for the crime and later released because of a lack of evidence. David Cobb committed suicide in September 2009.
Smothers also pleaded guilty Monday to killing Gaudrielle Webster, Clarence Cherry, Johnnie Marshall, Marshall White, Willis Watson, Carl Thornton and Adrian Thornton, the News said. The killings occurred in 2006 and 2007 in Detroit.
