SAN DIEGO — Four San Diego men have been sentenced to between 90 and 349 days in jail for their roles in the beating death last year of professional surfer Emery Kauanui, who was raised on Kaua'i.

The four received varying amounts of credit for time served and were also placed on probation today. All pleaded to lesser charges than the original murder case against them.

Remaining defendant Seth Cravens, the alleged leader of the group, has pleaded not guilty to murder and his trial is scheduled for Oct. 14.

A bar argument last year ended with a showdown that left Kauanui bleeding outside his mother's home in upscale La Jolla. The 24-year-old surfer was hospitalized with severe head trauma and died three days later after being taken off life support.

Earlier in the day, Kauanui's mother tearfully told the judge that she had lost the love of her life and she thanked God for the 24 years she had with him.

"All I can tell you is that I love him so much and it's just not the same," Cindy Kauanui said at the sentencing hearing. "Our family is broken."

The single parent of three cried as she told the judge that her son was "the most amazing child any mother could have."

Nigel Kauanui spoke of how his brother and best friend encouraged him to become a musician. The surfer's girlfriend of six years, Jennifer Grosso, said losing him was a "lifetime sentence."

"I lost the love of my life, a soulmate and someone I was planning to spend the rest of my life with," Grosso said.

After a short video played with Hawaiian music that showed Kauanui riding the waves and enjoying times with his family, San Diego Superior Court Judge John S. Einhorn ordered the defendants to turn around and face a packed courtroom.

"Look who've you let down and don't ever forget it," he said.

Raised on Kaua'i, and nicknamed the "Flying Hawaiian," Kauanui was a fixture at Windansea Beach, a spot just a few blocks from his house, where his favorite surf break is now called "Emery's Left."

The five, who had been buddies since attending La Jolla High School, were initially charged with murder but Eric House, 21, Orlando Osuna, 23, and Yanke, 22, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Osuna and Yanke also pleaded guilty to unrelated counts of misdemeanor battery.

Another defendant, Henri "Hank" Hendricks, 22, pleaded guilty to a felony of being an accessory to the death, and an unrelated misdemeanor battery.

Prosecutor Sophia Roach, who fought back tears as she read letters from Kauanui's loved ones, urged the judge to sentence Osuna to four years and six months in prison, House to four years, Osuna to three years and six months and Hendricks to one year.

Roach said all four benefited from supportive families and a wonderful public education in the upscale seaside community of La Jolla, but had a penchant for picking fights.

"Despite every advantage, they engaged in fights — participated, encouraged (fights) — for the thrill of it," she said.

The defendants, sitting side by side in dark suits, hung their heads as Kauanui's family and friends spoke. All except House addressed the court to apologize for their roles in the beating and called the victim a friend.

"Emery will never have a second chance in this lifetime and that is why I go to church to pray for his soul every day," Hendricks said.

Yanke spoke haltingly as he apologized to the shaken community and to his own family for the "wreckage" that he said may never be repaired.

"I'm not asking for mercy or for anything other than to be able to move on with my life," he said.

Prosecutors initially alleged that the "Bird Rock Bandits" — a name taken from a local area — was a gang, but Superior Court Judge John S. Einhorn ruled that the defendants could not be prosecuted under anti-gang statutes because the group wasn't formed specifically to commit crimes.

On May 23, 2007, Kauanui and his girlfriend went to a promotional surf-company event at the bar. Around 1 a.m., Kauanui and House got into an argument that ended with House doused in beer. Kauanui went home in his girlfriend's car after security ejected him from the bar, but the pair continued trading threats by phone.

Within minutes Cravens, House, Osuna, Yanke and Hendricks, a backup quarterback at the University of New Hampshire home on summer break, drove up to the home.

Witnesses told investigators that Kauanui charged out of his house, whipping his shirt off. House lost a tooth in the scuffle, but it was Kauanui who wound up lying in a pool of his own blood after a punch — allegedly from Cravens — sent him crashing to the pavement.