TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 32-year-old man was given the maximum sentence possible for beating a Kansas man to death during a burglary.

Howard Dale Burchfiel was sentenced Friday to 16 years for involuntary manslaughter and aggravated battery.

Topeka police say they found 66-year-old Allen Wichman injured after he was beaten in June 2017. He died the next month.

Shawnee County deputy district attorney Brett Watson noted that Burchfiel was convicted of attempted murder and given a lesser sentence in a 2009 case.

Watson said Wichman likely would be alive today if Burchfiel was given the standard or maximum sentence in that case.

Burchfiel said during the hearing that he accepts responsibility for Wichman’s death and apologized to his family.