A 39-year-old man was sentenced to a maximum five-year prison term for assaulting a Nu'uanu store owner who fell backwards and suffered fatal head injuries in September 2004.

William Albinio was initially charged with murdering Edward Medeiros, the 58-year-old owner of Nu'uanu Liquor & Sundries.

But Albinio pleaded guilty to second-degree assault for shoving Medeiros, who had lost his left leg to diabetes.

Albinio also pleaded guilty as part of the plea agreement to terroristic threatening of a woman earlier in 2004.

Circuit Judge Steve Alm on Monday imposed the five-year term for both cases.

Albinio apologized during the hearing, saying he did not know that pushing Medeiros would lead to his death.

At an earlier court hearing, police testified that Albinio told them he drank 12 to 18 beers and shoved Medeiros after the owner refused to sell him a six-pack.

City Deputy Prosecutor Darrell Wong said his office entered the agreement in the assault case because a key witness was missing and a trial could have resulted in an acquittal.

Albinio will receive credit for the time he spent behind bars in the case, leaving him with more than three years left to serve on his sentence.