Hutchinson ? The former owner of a Hutchinson bar has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for the death of a customer following a reported drinking contest.

Billy Leroy Scott, 34, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last month in the alcohol poisoning death of Juanita Goodpasture, 31. She had a blood alcohol content of .430 when she was found dead at her home in July last year after a night of drinking with her mother and sister.

They ended up at The Point, where Scott was then a co-owner. There Goodpasture was reported to have participated in the “Stoplight Challenge,” which according to testimony involved consuming three drinks: one red, one yellow and one green. According to prosecutors, patrons were refunded the $15 cost of the drinks and awarded a T-shirt if they could remain coherent for 30 minutes after consuming the drinks.

Some witnesses, however, said the bar did not sponsor a drinking contest.

State law bars drinking games from places serving alcohol.

At the trial, Scott acknowledged “buying” the drink for friends on occasion and acknowledged serving it to Goodpasture the night before she died.

At his sentencing Thursday in Reno County District Court, Scott apologized to Goodpasture’s family.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s not easy to lose a child,” he said. “If we could change things we would. … I liked Juanita, she was a great person and it’s a tragedy we lost her.”

Goodpasture’s mother, Bev Brown, said Scott deserved punishment.

“A lot of us are at fault, including myself,” said Goodpasture’s mother, Bev Brown. “But he took a life and I think he should be punished for it.”

Scott’s attorney, Kerry Granger, asked the court for a downward departure from state sentencing guidelines, arguing the law that resulted in Scott’s two driving while suspended convictions being counted as felonies has since been changed. The offense is now considered a misdemeanor.

Judge Richard Rome also set a $35,000 appeal bond.