CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - A Tennessee judge has sentenced a former Fort Campbell soldier to four years in prison in the death of a fellow soldier last year.
Benjamin Schweitzer, 28, was convicted in August of reckless homicide in the 2012 death of Sgt. 1st Class Frederic Nicholas "Nic" Moses, 26, of the 5th Special Forces Group.
Schweitzer testified during the trial that he was asleep, thought he heard an intruder and reacted when he saw a person approaching him. Schweitzer said he didn't know it was Moses, a St. Charles, Mo., native who lived in the Clarksville home.
Schweitzer was a guest in the home and said he had taken a sedative.
He was previously sentenced to time served for firing at officers who responded to the initial shooting.
The Leaf-Chronicle reports Schweitzer apologized during Tuesday's sentencing.
"I just wanted to say how sorry I am for everything that happened," Schweitzer said. "Everyone is here today because of me, but one person isn't here because of me. I will never be able to fix that.
"I became a medic to help people and in the end I couldn't even help myself and I ended up taking everything," he said.
"I can't begin to ask for forgiveness from the loved ones I robbed of Mr. Moses. I don't even know how you would go about doing that. I just want to say I never thought any of this would happen, and I didn't want any of this to happen, and I'm sorry. I can't say that enough."
Moses' sister, Elizabeth Moses, cried as she read a letter about the void her brother's death has left in the lives of their family.
"I could write a book of memories and stories of my brief 22 years with Nic on earth. He was truly one in a million. He had an addiction which I admired and strived to become just as infatuated with: Life. My brother was someone who truly seized the day and made the most of every moment he was given on earth," she said.