Cody Cutting (Photo provided — New York State Police)

ELIZABETHTOWN — A Moriah man who shot and killed a friend during a drunken confrontation in a bar parking lot last spring was sentenced to the maximum prison term Monday after acknowledging he made “mistakes” that night.

Cody R. Cutting, 31, was sentenced to five to 15 years in state prison for his December second-degree manslaughter and menacing convictions that stemmed from the fatal shooting of Derek “Boomer” Sprague last April 22.

Sprague, 44, was shot in the neck with a .45-caliber handgun during a fight in the parking lot of Aerie 4410 club in Moriah Center. He was the brother of Essex County District Attorney Kristy Sprague, which resulted in the Warren County District Attorney’s Office prosecuting the case as a special prosecutor.

Cutting was charged with second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter and lesser counts, and was acquitted of the murder charge during a trial late last year before Essex County Judge Richard Meyer.

He had claimed he shot Sprague in self-defense, after a series of confrontations between Cutting, Sprague and another man in the bar in the preceding hours. Cutting testified during the trial, telling the jury that he was worried Sprague was going to kill him and that Sprague had made prior threats.

Cutting got a loaded handgun out of his car but claimed the gun accidentally discharged as Sprague knocked him to the ground.

Prosecutors pointed out throughout his testimony that he could have left the club parking lot instead of getting the gun.

Sprague’s mother, Lani Sprague, read an emotional victim’s impact statement Monday, telling how her son was the “unofficial” bouncer at the club, and had gone there to order takeout dinner after his young daughter’s basketball team won a game that he coached.

The death that she called murder has devastated the family and left her heartbroken, Lani Sprague wrote. She wished the death penalty was possible.

“We are a very close family and Boomer’s death has taken a toll on each and everyone of us,” she wrote.

Warren County District Attorney Jason Carusone, who prosecuted the case along with his first assistant district attorney, Matthew Burin, said the packed courtroom heard a victim’s impact statement from Sprague’s mother before Cutting responded that he was one of a number of people who made “mistakes” that night.

Carusone said he was glad Cutting was held accountable for the killing. He also praised the State Police for a thorough investigation.

“We asked for the maximum under the circumstances, and we were very pleased the court imposed the sentence that they did,” he said.

Cutting will have to serve at least five years before becoming eligible for parole. Meyer also imposed $6,000 in fines.

He plans to appeal the conviction. His lawyer, Kevin O’Brien, said he may also seek bail pending appeal, which could result in his release from custody while he appeals. Second-degree manslaughter is considered a nonviolent offense, and that could help his argument for bail, O’Brien explained.

He said New York’s “weak” laws on self-defense, which some believe don’t go far enough in protecting those who use force to defend themselves, affected the case.

“If we were in a state other than New York, he might not have been convicted of anything,” O’Brien said.

Cutting regretted some of his decisions that day but was one of several people who could have handled things differently, O’Brien added.