BELLEVILLE - A Toronto man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for the shooting death of his friend in Belleville, Ont.

Michael Brooks pleaded guilty in December to manslaughter in the death of Jesse Archer of Warkworth, Ont., last summer.

Justice Stephen Hunter said it was a difficult decision because the shooting in a pickup was unintentional and the two men were friends.

However, the incident involved alcohol and Brooks did not have the gun legally.

Brooks shot a bullet that travelled from the back seat of a pickup through the head rest and into the base of Archer's brain.