A man convicted in the first case brought by the city’s cold-case investigation unit received a 30-year prison sentence Thursday.

Dedric Sherrod was arrested last year and charged with the murder of Melik Powell in 1998. Powell was using a pay phone at a Whitemarsh Road shopping center when he was shot and killed.

Circuit Court Judge Rodham T. Delk sentenced Sherrod to 30 years, which was recommended by the jury. The time includes a sentence of 16 years for second-degree murder, eight years for two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, four years for attempted robbery, and one year each for conspiracy and shoot, stab, cut or wound.

Sherrod asked Delk to appoint a lawyer for him to appeal the conviction. Because he pleaded not guilty, Sherrod still has the right to appeal.