Man gets five years in tailgate death

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COLUMBIA, S.C., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A judge in South Carolina sentenced an Alabama football fan to five years in prison for the 2010 death of University of a South Carolina fan.

Allen Martin Gasque, 20, a University of South Carolina booster from Marion, S.C, died when he was run over by a pickup truck driven by a friend after being punched to the ground by Curtis Simms, 27, The State, Columbia, S.C., reported Wednesday.

The altercation occurred in a tailgating area not long after an Alabama-South Carolina football game.

Witnesses said both men had been drinking.

Judge Diane Goodstein sentenced Simms, of Columbia, to 10 years in prison but suspended the term to five years with three additional years of probation.

A jury found him guilty of breach of the peace of a high and aggravated nature, a seldom-used common law charge that carries a maximum 10-year sentence.

"I want to apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Gasque for the loss of their son," Simms said before sentencing.