FARGO, N.D. - A federal judge in Fargo has sentenced a man to 23 years in prison, over prosecutors' objections, for his role in a 2005 killing over a drug dispute.
Alan Wessels was accused of driving the getaway car the night Lee Avila was shot and killed in an East Grand Forks, Minn., home.
Wessels, 23, faced three life sentences; prosecutors sought a sentence longer than 30 years.
At the sentencing Thursday, U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson said Wessels is a low risk for re-offending when released from prison because of family support and lack of a prior serious criminal record.
The Avila murder was part of a drug ring.
"He was deeply involved," Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Myers said of Wessels.
Wessels' lawyer, Carl Flagstad, said that his client's role was minimal and that Wessels was being punished because others in the ring already had reached deals with prosecutors.
Wessels said he did not know an accomplice had a gun the night Avila was killed, though he acknowledged drug deals could turn violent.
