A sentencing date has been set for Michael Lang, who was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Jim Smith earlier this month.

Lang will be sentenced June 27 in Grundy County. He faces a mandatory life sentence for his first-degree murder charge.

A Hamilton County jury returned guilty verdicts on May 16 for all of Lang's three charges, also including attempted murder and assault on a peace officer.

Prosecutors argued Lang prompted a standoff at his Grundy Center home April 9, 2021, after assaulting Grundy Center reserve officer Cody Niehaus. The incident began when Officer Niehaus tried to pull Lang over for speeding through town and Lang didn't stop, instead leading the officer on a pursuit into the county. The state showed Officer Niehaus's body camera video during trial, which showed Lang hitting and pushing the officer, even after he was tased.

An officer responding to Niehaus's traffic stop says Lang did not comply with commands to put his hands up, but instead walked back to his own pickup and drove away.

"Before he got into his vehicle, looked like he smiled and said to come get him," Deputy Sam Broome told jurors.

Several other law enforcement testified for the prosecution during trial, including those who were closest to Sgt. Smith when he was shot.

The defense didn't dispute that Lang assaulted Niehaus, nor did they argue that Lang didn't shoot Sgt. Smith. Instead, defense attorney Aaron Hawbaker argued that Lang was reacting and that his shooting Sgt. Smith and at a Bearcat entering his home were not planned acts.

Lang was going to argue self-defense under Iowa's 'stand your ground' law, but a ruling by Judge Joel Dalrymple limited what the defense could argue in front of a jury.