Andrea Rebello Update: Dalton Smith, home invasion suspect, was praised by parole panel before early prison release

(CBS/AP) UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Dalton Smith, the parolee shot and killed by police along with a Hofstra University student, won praise from a state parole panel in 2011 before his conditional release from prison.

PICTURES: Slain Hofstra University student Andrea Rebello

The newspaper Newsday, citing a transcript of the hearing, says Smith, of Hempstead, N.Y., was released after completing nine years of his 10-year sentence for armed robbery. The panel praised him for completing a program to curb aggressive behavior and furthering his education.

It said he could be given a conditional release if he agreed to maintain employment, submit to drug testing and comply with all court orders.

It denied him discretionary parole, saying it would "not be compatible with the welfare of a society at large."

Smith was released last May.

The state corrections department and community supervision division couldn't be reached for comment.

Andrea Rebello, a 21-year-old college junior, was accidentally killed by a police officer's bullet during a hostage standoff involving Smith on Friday, May 17.

Investigators said police responded to a home invasion at Rebello's off-campus residence in Uniondale, N.Y. and found the suspectt holding the college student in a headlock. Smith pointed his gun at one of the officers, who responded by firing eight shots at the suspect, police said.

One of the bullets struck and killed Rebello, CBS New York reported. Smith, who had a 9 mm pistol, but never fired a shot, was also killed in the incident, police said.

Nassau County Police Commissioner Thomas Dale said the criminal investigation is ongoing and an internal police department investigation will follow. A spokesman for the district attorney's office said Monday it also was monitoring the police investigation.

Complete coverage of the Andrea Rebello shooting on Crimesider