The young man who shot off-duty Revere Police Officer Daniel Talbot to death near a baseball field two years ago will serve a state prison sentence for possessing the murder weapon before he even begins the life term mandated by his murder conviction, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Patrick F. Brady sentenced ROBERT IACOVIELLO, Jr. (D.O.B. 6/19/87) to three years for unlawfully possessing the 9mm semiautomatic handgun he used to shoot Talbot in the head on the morning of Sept. 29, 2007, to be followed by a life in state prison. Because jurors convicted Iacoviello of second-degree murder, he will be eligible for – though not guaranteed – parole after serving 15 years of that sentence.

At the same Suffolk Superior Court hearing, Brady sentenced JAMES HEANG (D.O.B. 6/19/90) to a term of three to six years following his conviction Tuesday as an accessory to Talbot’s murder after the fact.

“These are strong sentences, harsh sentences, and appropriate sentences,” Conley said. “They reflect the facts of the case and the findings of the jury. What they don’t reflect, and what no earthly sentence can, is the pain, sadness, grief, and loss that so many have suffered since Officer Talbot’s death.”

Prior to sentencing, Brady heard statements from Talbot’s fiancée, Constance Bethell; his mother, Patty Talbot; his fellow officer, Robert Impemba; and his younger brother, Paul Talbot. Each described the impact of their loved one’s murder.

“With Dan’s death I am not only mourning the death of someone I loved,” Bethell said. “I am mourning the loss of so many dreams, hopes, and expectations …. Dan was only 30 years old when his life was taken from him. Dan will never get to see his sister graduate college or watch his nephew grow up. During Dan’s last months he was studying for the sergeant’s exam … [He] was a great police officer and had so much potential to be more.”

Impemba, in uniform, said it was “an honor and a privilege” to work alongside Talbot. After hailing the slain officer as “honest, hardworking, dedicated, and level-headed,” he addressed the defendant.

“I think I speak for all the men and women at the Revere Police Department when I say to you that we feel a life sentence is exactly what you deserve for taking Danny from us,” he said. “Because even in a lifetime you will never be able to understand the amount of pain and heartache you have caused all of his friends and family, who wish more than anything that they could have him back.”

Paul Talbot, a few years younger than the police officer and Iraq War veteran, spoke of a pond near Bradford College “that Danny and I would spend hours shoveling snow off of so we could play hockey …. I look forward to bringing my son to that same pond and teaching him all of the things that Danny taught me.”

The three-week trial was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin, chief of the district attorney’s Homicide Unit, and Assistant District Attorney Edward Krippendorf. Kara Hayes, chief of Conley’s Victim Witness Assistance Program, joined Jessica Sheehan in shepherding the Talbot family and more than three dozen prosecution witnesses through the court proceedings.

Iacoviello was represented by attorney Peter Krupp. Heang was represented by attorney Willie Davis. Both men will serve their sentences at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Cedar Junction.