NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Ronnell Garmie, who killed a North Adams man in 2008, has been sentenced to prison on drug charges.

Garmie, of Bronx, N.Y., pleaded guilty on Thursday afternoon in Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield to single counts of cocaine trafficking and consipiracy to violate drug laws (distribution of cocaine). Judge Daniel Ford sentenced the 21-year-old Garmie to five to 5 1/2 years at Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction on the trafficking charge and a concurrent prison sentence on the conspiracy charge.

The charges stem from the night of Aug. 20, 2008, when authorities believe Walter tried to steal cocaine from a residence at Wheel Estates Mobile Home Park at which Garmie was staying. Garmie stabbed Walter during a scuffle at a residence; Walter, 24, was found by police on a neighboring lawn suffering from multiple stab wounds. He was transported to North Adams Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A grand jury declined to indict Garmie on charges related to the slaying. However, the investigation into the death resulted in the breakup