Eric Wilkerson, a former NFL running back who appeared in one game with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1989, was sentenced Monday to at least 12 years in prison in the 2022 stabbing death of an Ohio man.
Wilkerson pleaded guilty last week to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence, FOX 8 Cleveland reported. He was initially indicted on aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and tampering with records in the fatal stabbing of Brian Weems II.
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Kent State University Golden Flashes running back Eric Wilkerson, #40, runs with the football against linebacker Jerry Olsavsky, #55 of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, during a college football game as snow falls at Pitt Stadium on Nov. 21, 1987 in Pittsburgh. (George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
The 56-year-old Cleveland native was given an indefinite sentence of 12 to 17.5 years, the station reported. He will be on probation once he does get released.
Police said in February 2022, the men argued in an apartment, and Wilkerson followed Weems into a bathroom and stabbed him multiple times before he fled the scene.
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Running back Eric Wilkerson, #40 of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. (George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
Wilkerson was a standout high school athlete in Cleveland and went on to play collegiate football at Kent State where he was the Mid-American Conference MVP and the Offensive Player of the Year in 1987.
He joined the Steelers in 1989 and later signed with the Detroit Lions briefly in 1990.
Kent State University Golden Flashes running back Eric Wilkerson, #40, runs with the football against the University of Pittsburgh Panthers during a college football game at Pitt Stadium on Nov. 21, 1987 in Pittsburgh. (George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
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He played in the World League of American Football for the New York/New Jersey Knights and the Arena Football League’s Cleveland Thunderbolts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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