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PITTSBORO -
A Siler City man will serve no more than two years in prison for shooting his uncle to death with a shotgun last February.Initially charged with first-degree murder, Christopher N. Matthews, 36, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Thursday and was sentenced to 20 to 24 months in prison. The sentence is to commence after his current prison sentence for assault, DWI and child abuse charges that came while he was on probation for a previous DWI. He could be released in summer 2010.Assistant District Attorney Marci Trageser said the victim, Donald Louis Scotton, 53, had stabbed Matthews with a knife after Matthews tried to break up a family feud over a cigarette.Matthews' defense attorneys argued the gun went off accidentally during a struggle. "It was an issue of self-defense," Trageser said.An autopsy showed Scotton died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.
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