Muttering under his breath, a Greeley man cursed as he was led out of the courtroom Friday after his pleas for mercy couldn't keep him from a 16-year prison sentence for the death of his best friend.

Jonathan Mullins, 27, left Weld District Court in tears after Judge Gilbert Gutierrez sentenced him for the traffic death of his friend, Shannon Hottel, 26.

"Shannon Hottel was my best friend. I'm very sorry for the accident that happened, for the community and for his family," Mullins told Gutierrez. "When I think about him, I see him walking with God, and I cry for his mom, and all of his family. ... He was more than my friend. He was my brother."

A jury convicted Mullins last month of vehicular homicide while driving drunk on April 23, 2009. Police found that both occupants were not inside the 2005 Hyundai Tiburon after it veered off a bridge about 3 a.m. in the 3600 block of 49th Street in Evans.

Mullins crawled away from the crash through the hatchback, but Hottel was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.

At the time of the crash, officers couldn't determine who was the driver. Mullins has continually denied driving, but DNA evidence attached him to the driver's side air bag, which was enough to convince a jury of his guilt.

Mullins' family and some of Hottel's attended his sentencing, pleading with the judge to keep Mullins out of prison. Some argued that if Hottel hadn't persuaded Mullins - who was on parole at the time - to go out that night, they wouldn't be in this mess.

Gutierrez had little choice to give him a lenient sentence because he had a past felony and was on parole at the time of the crash, which made his potential sentence more severe.

Community Corrections is run by a board of trustees that reviews every client who would come to them. The board rejected Mullins for entry into the program, so his only choice was a prison sentence; probation was thrown off the table because of the serious nature of the crime.

"Let me clear up one thing. This was no accident. This was an intentional act by you, Mr. Mullins," Gutierrez said, describing that every choice he made to drink and drive and speed was his own that night. "The victim was your best friend, and the loss to his family, his children, his mother, you, your family, is a hole that will be in everyone's life forever."

Gutierrez said he ultimately had to look to the continuing pattern of criminal behavior in Mullins' life. "There's no question in my mind you have rejected every opportunity to rehabilitate yourself, and there's no question that you're a risk to the community. ... You make up your own law and rules."