KITTANNING — A Ford City man could spend up to three years behind bars for his role in the beating death of a Butler County man last year.

Armstrong County President Judge Kenneth Valasek on Thursday sentenced 45-year-old Otilio Cosme to 18 to 36 months in prison.

Cosme in August pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of 39-year-old James Sullivan of Donegal Township outside a Kittanning tavern in the early morning hours on St. Patrick’s Day 2013.

State police accused Cosme and three other men of killing Sullivan during a night of revelry and fisticuffs.

Dennis A. Rosenberger, 28, of Ford City previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced last month to 3 to 6 years in prison in Sullivan’s death.

The other co-defendants — Anthony M. Bove, 20, and Keith A. Brison, 34, both of Kittanning — are awaiting trial on homicide and other charges in the case.