KITTANNING — The second of four men charged in connection with the beating and stomping death of a Butler County man last year in Kittanning pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Thursday.

Otilio Cosme, 44, of Ford City pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 39-year-old James Sullivan of Donegal Township.

State police said Cosme was one of three other men who kicked or jumped on Sullivan after the victim was knocked out by a sucker punch delivered by a fourth man, during a 2013 St. Patrick’s Day brawl outside the Wick City Saloon.

By pleading, Cosme avoided a trial in Armstrong County Court that was to start Monday.

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to withdraw all other charges, including the most serious count of homicide and felony assault.

Under state law, the maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter is 5 years in prison. The standard-range sentence, however, is 3 to 12 months.

Last month, Dennis Andrew Rosenberger, 28, of Ford City pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault and involuntary manslaughter in Sullivan’s death.

Rosenberger is to be sentenced Sept. 23.

Two other men — Anthony Michael Bove, 20, and Keith Allen Brison, 34, both of Kittanning — are awaiting trial on homicide and other charges stemming from the same trial.

Investigators allege Rosenberger cold-cocked Sullivan with a punch to the face about 1:35 a.m. March 17, 2013. Sullivan fell and struck his head on the pavement.

Moments later, police said, while Sullivan lay unconscious, Cosme, Bove and Brison jumped on and kicked his motionless body.

The victim was pronounced dead less than 90 minutes later at ACMH Hospital in East Franklin Township.

An autopsy ruled that Sullivan suffered two potentially fatal injuries — blunt force trauma to his skull and a severed vein in his stomach, which caused massive internal bleeding,

The skull injury was caused by Rosenberger’s punch and the other injury was from the pummelling and kicking delivered by the other defendants.

Both injuries were fac tors in the death, said Armstrong County Assistant District Attorney Chase McClister.