A sketch Michael Allen Jocobs in court. Senior Constable David Rixon / Pic: Northern Daily Leader Source: The Daily Telegraph IT took only seconds for Michael Allan Jacobs to steal the life of a "great cop" and beloved family man with an irrational burst of violence. A Supreme Court jury yesterday took less than two hours to find cowardly Jacobs, 49, guilty of the senseless and cold-blooded murder of Tamworth policeman David Rixon. The career criminal faces life behind bars, without parole, after becoming the first person convicted under new laws for murdering a policeman in the line of duty. Senior Constable Rixon's widow Fiona sobbed after the verdict before calling home where the couple's six children and other family waited on the news. "The kids are struggling with (everything) so the sooner I get home the happier we will all be," she said outside the court, her voice wavering with emotion. David Rixon's mother Gwen Russell speaks to the media outside court / Pic: Braden Fastier Source: The Daily Telegraph Sen-Constable Rixon was shot once through the heart and lung with a .38 calibre revolver when he approached Jacobs' stopped car early on a March morning last year. The driver, who had a history of armed robbery and assault, opened fire moments after the highway patrol officer was recorded saying: "G'day mate, how are you going? Just going to breath-test you buddy. A series of gunshots rang out and Jacobs was recorded crying out: "Die ... The policeman had already returned fire and hit the driver three times, leaving him badly wounded, and the officer managed to partially handcuff his attacker and holster his weapon before he collapsed. Jacobs survived but Sen-Constable Rixon couldn't be resuscitated. Mrs Rixon said it was "pretty special" knowing her husband had been "the only police officer, ever known, to arrest his own murderer" - a reference to his final act of bravery in stopping Jacobs before he could flee. The Crown claimed the gunman had been high on ice and impulsively shot the policeman to avoid being locked up for driving without a licence. Jacobs told detectives only minutes after the shooting that the real murderer was drug dealer Terrance "Terry" Price, who he claimed to have arranged to meet at the scene of the murder that morning. But the jury didn't believe his story, which prosecutor Pat Barrett said was nothing more than a "fabricated" tale in which he pointed the finger at a "likely candidate." Speaking after the verdict, Inspector Jeff Budd, from Tamworth, said Sen-Constable Rixon was a "great cop" and "a hero" who sacrificed his life policing his community.