Chesapeake, Va. - The man who delivered a deadly blow to another man in a Chesapeake bar fight in 2014 was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Monday.
Ronnie Cisko apologized to Chuck Setchel's family inside the courtroom today. He told them, "It's been hard for me to live like this. I've already been sentenced to a lifetime of guilt."
NewsChannel 3 spoke to Setchel's fiancée, Robin Stewart, after Cisko was sentenced.
"I don't know that my heart will ever be closed. It has been crushed. It's been broken, but I feel so much better knowing that he [Cisko] is where he needs to be," Stewart said.
To Stewart's surprise, Cisko's defense attorney asked that he be sentenced to just one year in prison because he didn't mean to intentionally kill Setchel.
Stewart said she was "devastated" to hear that.
The judge Cisko's lengthy criminal history played a role in his decision to sentence him to 14 years.
"At this point, I am satisfied that the max was given to him. That's what he deserves," Stewart said.
Cisko was arrested and charged in December 2014 after police say he and Chuck Setchel, got into a fight at Zino's restaurant during a football game. Setchel died from his injuries.
Ronnie Cisko
Cisko was originally charged with 2nd Degree Murder but that charge was reduced to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea agreement.
Surveillance video from the night of the fight shows Setchel and Cisko get up from the bar at Zino's. Seconds later, Cisko lunges at Setchel and punches him in the neck.
The Medical Examiner later reported Setchel’s cause of death was a vertebral artery dissection caused by blunt force trauma. A Medical Examiner previously testified that it was Cisko’s assault that killed Setchel.
In bond hearings, Cisko's attorney told the judge he did not intentionally kill Setchel.
Cisko's attorneys asked for a one year sentence. Instead, Cisko received 10 years for the Voluntary Manslaughter charge and an additional 4 years for probation violation.
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