DALLAS (AP) - A Texas jury has sentenced the 22-year-old son of former NBA player Nick Van Exel to 60 years in prison in the shooting death of a longtime friend.
Nickey Maxwell Van Exel received the punishment Friday after his father wept on the witness stand and apologized to the family of Bradley Bassey Eyo. The same jury in Dallas County in North Texas found the younger Van Exel guilty of murder on Thursday.
Prosecutors had sought a capital murder conviction.
Nickey Maxwell Van Exel fatally shot the friend in December 2010 and dumped his body at Lake Ray Hubbard on the eastern outskirts of Dallas.
His father, Nick Van Exel, played 13 seasons in the NBA and is now a player development instructor for the Atlanta Hawks.
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