A 55-year-old man has been sentenced to two consecutive life terms for the “cold-blooded, calculated” 2022 murders of a man and woman in Mesa, authorities said.

“In two minutes, this man killed two people in such a cold-blooded, calculated way, making prison for the rest of his life the right place for him to be,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell stated Thursday in announcing the sentences for Aaron Aldric Thomas of Laveen.

Before meeting his victims on Jan. 28, 2022, Thomas planned their murders, according to an MCAO release.

He acquired a gun, gloves and a mask and arranged to buy drugs from one of the victims at his home.

“As soon as the victim opened the door and turned his back to him, Thomas, without saying a word, raised his handgun and began shooting the victim in the back,” the release stated.

“As Thomas was about to leave with the stolen drugs, a second victim started screaming, begging for her life. Once again, without hesitation, he shot her multiple times before shooting the first victim again at point-blank range.”

During an investigation, police were able to obtain DNA from a retaining wall that the defendant had touched while fleeing the home. Police also found video footage from inside the home, the driveway, nearby residences and businesses that placed the defendant at the scene of the crime, according to MCAO.

Police tracked the defendant to his home in Laveen, where he was arrested.

On Dec. 14, Thomas was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed robbery and one count of burglary in the first degree.