A Long Beach man was sentenced to four years in state prison today after he was convicted in April of fatally stabbing his 72-year-old roommate during an argument in 2016.

Superior Court Judge Richard Romero handed down the sentence on William Earl Wilson, 53, who was found guilty April 19 of voluntary manslaughter for stabbing Jacob Howard at a friend’s apartment.

On September 19, 2016, Wilson got into an argument with Howard, a Long Beach resident, when Wilson stabbed him. Paramedics transported him to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.

Prosecutors previously said that Wilson and the victim were staying in a friend’s apartment at the time of the stabbing, and that both of them reportedly slept in the living room.

City News Service contributed to this report.