Former New Jersey Net Jayson Williams was sentenced today to five years in prison for fatally shooting a limousine driver in 2002.

The 42-year-old retired NBA player pleaded guilty last month to fourth-degree aggravated assault for the death of Costas "Gus" Christofi, 55, at the estate Williams owned in Alexandria Township. Williams will have to serve a minimum of 18 months in prison before he is eligible for parole.

Williams first went to trial in 2004, and a jury acquitted him of aggravated manslaughter, the most serious offense. He was convicted of the four charges related to the cover-up. Reckless manslaughter was the only charge on which jurors could not agree.

He was slated to be retried this year, but pleaded guilty Jan. 11. During that hearing, Williams admitted that he pulled a shotgun from his gun collection on Feb. 14, 2002. He failed to check whether the safety mechanism was on, or if the gun was loaded, and he didn’t pay attention to where the muzzle was pointed. When he snapped the gun shut, it discharged and hit Christofi in the chest.

Williams has remained free on $250,000 bail