BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A 52-year-old Beatrice man convicted of strangulation has been given three years in prison.

Leon Williams was sentenced Wednesday in Gage County District Court. Williams had pleaded no contest to the charge. Prosecutors dropped a charge of domestic assault in exchange for Williams’ plea.

A court document says his fiancée told an officer on Nov. 2 that Williams had been drinking when he forced her down on a bed and put his hands on her face and neck. She grabbed a hammer in an attempt to get free, and he released her to grab it and throw it in a corner of the bedroom.