PROVIDENCE - The man convicted of murdering a Pawtucket woman was handed a minimum sentence of 72 years in prison and won't be eligible for parole before the age of 101, guaranteeing he'll live out his life in jail, an official said.

Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause imposed the sentence Friday on Alonzo P. Shelton, 29, for the July 27, 2006 murder of Jessica Imran 24, and the shooting her friend Julie Lang, 26.

The sentence includes two consecutive life terms, one for the murder of Imran and the second for discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence, death resulting.

A minimum of 15 years for each crime must be served.

Krause added 25 years after finding Shelton to be an habitual offender and he reinstated a 17-year term for a previous gun crime for which Shelton had been paroled bringing the total minimum sentence to 72 years and guaranteeing Shelton will never get out of jail, said Attorney General Patrick Lynch. "A year after a career criminal became a cold-blooded murderer, our justice system guarantees that Alonzo Shelton is denied any opportunity to re-enter society and to inflict his brutality on innocent victims ever again," Lynch said in a statement e-mailed to The Sun Chronicle.

A second man allegedly involved with the crime, Barry Offley, 20, has been charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and assault with intent to kill and will be tried at a later date.

Shelton escaped to Florida after the murder at Imran's Lawn Street apartment in Pawtucket, but at one point was thought to be hiding in a home on Curtis Avenue in South Attleboro, Mass., forcing Attleboro and Pawtucket police to seal off the neighborhood for several hours.

GEORGE W. RHODES can be reached at 508-236-0432 or at grhodes@thesunchronicle.com.