YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -  A man who beat a man to within an inch of his life learned his fate in court on Friday.

35 year old Terrell Vaughn was sentenced to eight years in prison. Authorities say Vaughn was responsible for April's near-fatal beating of 41-year-old Emil Smith on an east side street April 21.

A jury in Mahoning County common pleas court convicted Vaughn of felonious assault on Thursday.

 Before sentence was handed down, the victim's fiancee Robin Wheaton told the court that Smith's life, and her life has changed forever. "I'm in fear for my life for the rest of my life because I'll never forget this." said Wheaton.

As he imposed the sentence, Judge R. Scott Krichbaum said that Vaughn and two of his friends destroyed Smith's life. Smith is in a wheelchair and suffered brain damage from the beating..