A Franktown, Ont., man was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in federal prison in a manslaughter case that had dragged on for almost five years. Gerald Camelon waited close to two years for his manslaughter sentence but was able to live in his home while he awaited sentencing. (CBC)

Gerald Camelon was found guilty on St. Patrick's Day 2011 of manslaughter in the 2008 death of 40-year-old Shawn Ayotte.

Ayotte and Camelon, who had previously known of each other while doing time in a Brockville, Ont., jail, had come face to face on Nov. 7, 2008, outside the Mississippi Ale House in Carleton Place, Ont., which is now called Shenanigans Restaurant & Bar.

Video from the bar, which was shared with the CBC's Evan Dyer, showed Ayotte pointing at Camelon from about seven or eight feet away before Camelon lunged and tackled him.

Ayotte's head struck the ground and he died four days later.

Procedural delays

Camelon's trial was unusual in that a series of delays caused by changes of attorney and delays in getting pre-sentencing reports dragged out the process of sentencing. Shawn Ayotte, then 40, died four days after his head struck the ground. (CBC)

For two years after being convicted of the killing, Camelon was able to remain living at home in Franktown. The victim's father, Maurice Ayotte, had believed Camelon was in prison the whole time.

In a courtroom in Perth,. Ont., Tuesday, Camelon was finally sentenced.

The three-and-a-half-year sentence was closer to the five-year-sentence Crown prosecutors wanted than the conditional sentence Camelon's lawyer was suggesting.

Shawn Ayotte's brother expressed some satisfaction at the sentence, saying "it could have been a lot worse," and said at least his brother's killer was finally going to prison.