GRAND FORKS, N.D. - A man has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison for killing his friend in a case U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley called an example of the "horrific toll" of alcohol abuse.
Porfirio Diaz Jr., 43, of Fort Totten, was sentenced Thursday on a voluntary manslaughter charge in the death of his friend, Brian Littleghost.
Wrigley said Diaz struck Littleghost with his fist on July 14, after he had been drinking. Littleghost's skull was fractured and he died later that day, Wrigley said.
The incident happened on the Spirit Lake reservation.
Diaz was convicted by a jury in November. Judge Ralph Erickson sentenced him Thursday to 97 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered him to pay his friend's funeral expenses.
