HARRISBURG — A 29-year-old Union County man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing the son of a former Harrisburg police officer in what authorities called a soured drug deal.

Michael Lyter, of West Milton, reportedly went to the home of Dax Curtis, 29, Harrisburg, to buy marijuana on July 31, 2007, officials said at the time of his arrest.

During the transaction, Lyter shot Curtis in the head. Police said Lyter made off with the drugs, but the jury that found him guilty of first-degree murder also found him not guilty of a robbery charge.

Curtis lived in the home with his father, retired police detective Richard Curtis, who police said awoke to find his son lying in the foyer with a gunshot wound to the head.

Police obtained warrants to search several properties in Union County and ended up nabbing Lyter in Harrisburg.

Karla DeJesus, the victim’s mother, said at sentencing she wanted Lyter to look her in her eyes and know that he had killed her first-born son, according to The Patriot-News in Harrisburg.

“You have a chance you didn’t give my son,” she said. “You have your life.”