The morning after Seaside, OR, Police Sgt. Jason Goodding was shot and killed, officers responded to an unrelated noise disturbance at a Seaside apartment on Feb. 6, 2016. What they found tied the resident to Goodding's death, reports the Oregonian .

While officers spoke to Jamie Lee Jones on the porch of the apartment, they noticed a single live round of ammunition on the ground. Jones said he didn't know anything about the bullet, and the officers seized it.

A closer examination of that "A USA 380 AUTO'' round, with its unusual head stamp, revealed it was identical to a bullet that killed Goodding the night before.

Jones was arrested five days later, accused of having previously possessed the handgun used to kill the Seaside police sergeant, a .380-caliber Davis P380 pistol.

Jamie Lee Jones was sentenced to 12 years. His gun was used to kill Sgt. Jason Goodding. (Photo: Columbia County Sheriff's Office)

He also faced other firearms and drug charges. Authorities believe the gunman who killed the Seaside sergeant, Philip Ferry, 55, had swiped the .380-caliber pistol from Jones while Jones was passed out from a drug binge, according to court records.

On Monday morning, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon sentenced Jones, 45, to 12 years in federal prison after he had pleaded guilty to possession of another firearm in furtherance of drug-trafficking and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

"I appreciate that you are not the one who caused the death of a heroic sworn officer,'' Simon told Jones. "But your possession of the firearm...did lead to the death of Sgt. Goodding.''