CONVENT — A Baton Rouge man was sentenced to seven decades in prison for the attempted killing of a River Parishes police officer, officials said.

According to 23rd Judicial District Attorney Ricky L. Babin’s office, Judge Tess Stromberg sentenced 48-year-old Ron Youngblood on Monday to 70 years with the Louisiana Department of Corrections at hard labor with credit for time served.

The sentence is to be served without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

Public Information Officer Tyler Cavalier said Youngblood has two prior felony convictions for attempted manslaughter and simple escape.

A St. James Parish jury previously found Youngblood guilty Sept. 29 of attempted first degree murder following a May 2015 shootout involving St. James Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Youngblood was also found guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

At the time Stromberg delayed sentencing for a pre-sentence investigation.

St. James Sheriff Willy Martin Jr. backed his officers’ actions to L’OBSERVATEUR following the shootout, which occurred May 24, 2015. At the time, Martin said State Police agreed it was a “clean shooting” and “officers had no other course of action” than to return fire, which included wounding Youngblood.

Six total people — two deputies and four suspects — were involved in the shootout, authorities announced in June 2015, adding the altercation began at approximately 1 a.m. when the Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding a gunman walking along Legion Street in Convent.

Martin said two deputies came into contact with four male subjects when they arrived to Legion Street.

“The deputies exited their patrol units and, upon approaching them, one of the subjects opened fire with a handgun,” Martin said, adding one of the deputies took cover behind a patrol unit while the other took cover behind a tree. Both deputies returned fire at the shooter, who was firing at them.