WWE star Dolph Ziggler’s brother sentenced to 15 years in prison over death of military veteran Joshua Mascol after botched robbery went wrong
The 37-year-old wrestler's brother was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter with his accomplice Jack King
DOLPH ZIGGLER'S brother has been handed a 15-year prison sentence after he was convicted over the death of a military veteran during a botched robbery.
Donald Nemeth - Ziggler's brother - pleaded guilty with accomplice Jack King on charges of involuntary manslaughter, robbery and kidnapping.
Both men were implicated back in January 2016 for the death of Joshua Mascol, but have only today been sentenced, where King, 52, will serve a 17-year sentence.
The duo worked together as union boilermakers, and Nemeth knew Mascol as he often bought drugs from the 34-year-old.
They decided to rob the veteran in a hallway inside the University Hotel and Suites in Cleveland's Central neighbourhood, which resulted in one of the assailants shooting Mascol after a scuffle ensued.
The hotel's surveillance camera could not make out who the gunman was, with neither person admitting it was them who fired the lethal shot.
Speaking in court, Nemeth, 37, apologised to Mascol's family - blaming his drug addictions on the crime.
He said: "I’ve been battling severe addiction issues and I lost a good friend because of it."
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His aunt Christine Basar echoed his statements that drugs played a vital part in the tragedy, she said: "Had we have known he had a drug addiction, we would have surrounded him with the love that he needs.
"The Donny we know is a good and kind person without the drugs. Drugs just need to leave this whole country."
Ziggler - real name Nicholas Nemeth - has so far failed to comment on the incident.
King allured that it was the 30-year-old who carried out the act, saying: "Had I known Donny was going to do anything like he did, I never would have went.
"I would have tried to stop him."
While Nemeth's lawyer - Patrick Farrell - told Judge Shannon Gallagher: "It wasn't Mr. Nemeth who had that gun. It was Mr. King."
Text messages from Mascol's phone on the night of January 23, 2016 show that he agreed to meet Nemeth in the room of the seventh floor to sell him cocaine.