BRIGHTON - A drug dealer who beat a first-degree murder charge in December when a jury convicted him of criminally negligent homicide was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison.

But at his sentencing, an Adams County district judge was moved to ask what the verdict might have been if a different jury had decided the case.

"Who knows what the verdict could have been?" Judge C. Vincent Phelps Jr., said before sentencing Keller. "Mr. Keller could have been facing life without parole. But this jury has spoken."

Given the jury's Dec. 5 verdict of criminally negligent homicide, Phelps could only sentence Keller to a maximum of six years in prison. The sentence actually will be less because the judge gave Keller credit for 667 days of pre-sentence confinement.

Keller may also face additional time if a deferred judgment in a Denver drug case is revoked. Phelps ordered that whatever sentence is imposed by the judge in the Denver case would be served after the six years he handed down on Thursday.

According to the evidence and witness accounts, Keller shot and killed Jared R. Davidson, 27, over a drug debt in a room at the White Rock Motel, 5555 Federal Blvd., on April 19, 2005. Based on the forensic evidence, the killer put the gun to Davidson's head and pulled the trigger.

Keller, 33, had testified in his own defense and claimed that someone else was responsible for the slaying.

"My instinct would tell me that they were not convinced who committed the crime," said Keller's defense lawyer Donald Lozow in trying to explain the jury's verdict.

Keller, his mother and fiancée asked for probation so that he could become a productive member of society and take care of his family. He has several children.

"I'd like to give my condolences to Mr. Davidson's family," Keller said. "My heart goes out to all of them. I know I have been involved in criminal activities before . . . I am eager to get back and take care of my family the way I was supposed to be."

Deputy District Attorney Thomas J. Quammen acknowledged the difficulty in prosecuting the case, primarily because many witnesses were involved in drugs, alcohol and prostitution. A stretch along Federal Boulevard in unincorporated Adams County has been a hotbed of criminal activity.

Quammen was forced to subpoena and jail three witnesses who weren't cooperating with prosecutors to ensure that they would testify at the trial.

Judge Phelps also questioned whether jurors had "cast a jaundiced ear on the witness testimony" because of the witnesses' backgrounds.

Witnesses said Keller matched the description of the man who entered the motel room where the victim was hanging out with two women.

The man, who was wearing a hood over his head, then told the two women to leave the room, they said.

When the women returned to the room a short time later, they said they found Davidson dead.

Davidson's mother was beaten to death by an ex-boyfriend in 1999.