Anaheim man gets four years behind bars in beating death of man outside Hollywood nightclub

An Anaheim man was sentenced to four years behind bars in a Los Angeles County jail on Thursday in connection with the fatal beating of a 28-year-old man outside a Hollywood nightclub.

Los Angeles County prosecutors initially charged Dietrich Canterberry, 36, with murder in connection with the 2016 attack. However, after three days of deliberation in June, a jury convicted him of involuntary manslaughter, according to court records.

Prosecutors said Canterberry, who was a defensive lineman at UNLV in the early 2000s, punched Devion Jelkes during a melee outside a nightclub near Hollywood and Cahuenga boulevards, which caused the man to fall and hit his head on the ground. Jelkes was taken to a hospital with blunt-force trauma injuries and died there, authorities said.

Cordell Shields, 37, who faces a murder charge and two counts of assault causing great bodily injury for what prosecutors say is his role in the scuffle, is awaiting trial. He initially was being tried along with Canterberry, but a judge declared a mistrial in Shields’ portion of the case, according to court records.

The fatal encounter unfolded on Oct. 30, 2016, just as clubs were closing about 2:30 a.m. in the center of Hollywood’s nightlife district. Witnesses told police two women got into a dispute as a crowd milled about on the sidewalk. During the argument, prosecutors said Shields punched Jelkes’ sister, Laporscha Marks, in the face as she tried to get into a car. As Jelkes ran toward his sister, the two men kicked and punched him, prosecutors said.

Both men fled following the incident. Canterberry hopped onto a party bus, but officers later caught up with the bus, pulled it over and arrested him. Los Angeles Police Department officers took Shields into custody days later. He remains in jail, in lieu of $2 million bail, according to jail records.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @Hannahnfry