Upstate soldier pleads guilty

A Fort Hood soldier has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, saying he shot his friend accidentally while trying to scare away his hiccups.

Fort Hood officials say Spc. Patrick Edward Myers of Spartanburg, SC, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in military prison on Thursday. He also was busted to private and will receive a bad-conduct discharge.

Myers fatally shot Pfc. Isaac Lawrence Young in September while they were watching a football game at a Killeen apartment. Myers told police he thought the weapon had dummy rounds and was trying to scare his friend so his hiccups would stop.