Jayson Williams gets minimum 18 months in shooting

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SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Former NBA star Jayson Williams has been sentenced to a minimum 18 months in prison for fatally shooting a hired driver in 2002, ending an eight-year legal odyssey.

Williams avoided a retrial on a reckless manslaughter count by pleading guilty last month to aggravated assault in the death of Costas Christofi in February 2002. Williams was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in 2004 but of covering up the shooting.

State Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman sentenced Williams Tuesday to a total of five years on the cover-up counts, which will run concurrent to the assault sentence. He will be eligible for parole after 18 months.

Witnesses testified Williams snapped a shotgun shut in the bedroom of his New Jersey mansion. The gun went off, killing Christofi.