Tyrone Hartsfield, the man convicted of attempted murder in the shooting of Jaguars player Richard Collier, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without possibility of parole.

Richard Collier was shot as many as 14 times in September 2008 while sitting in an SUV waiting outside a Riverside apartment.

After a two-week trial, Tyrone Hartsfield was convicted last month of attempted murder in the ambush shooting.

Prosecutors called the shooting an act of retaliation for a fight at a nightclub months earlier in which Collier admitted hitting Hartsfield at a nightclub.

He survived the shooting, but was left paralyzed from the waist down and had a leg amputated.

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During a statement at the hearing, Collier cried as he described how Hartsfield not only robbed him of his career as an NFL player, but he almost took his life when he fired 14 shots at him. Collier said four bullets remain in his body.

"What I've had to go through I would not wish on my worst enemy," Collier said.

Hartsfield also gave testimony during the sentencing hearing and continued to maintain his innocence.

"I would never do something like that to a person. Never," Hartsfield said.

His mother and fiancée also testified, asking Judge Mallory Cooper for leniency for Hartsfield.

But prosecutors painted a picture of a career criminal who had been offered plenty of chances to turn his life around.

The minimum sentence for that charge is 25 years in prison, but since Hartsfield was classified a habitual offender, the judge sentenced him to the maximum possible: life without possibility of parole.

"There is not a sentence I could give that would address what happened to Mr. Collier," Cooper said. "It was a cowardly act; it was a brutal act."

Hartsfield's attorneys said they will appeal.

Previous Stories:

• November 5, 2009: Hartsfield Guilty Of Attempted Murder
• November 4, 2009: Hartsfield On Stand: 'I Didn't Do This'
• November 3, 2009: Hartsfield's Lawyer Grills State Witness
• November 2, 2009: 'Smoking Gun' Played In Shooting Case
• October 30, 2009: Phone Use Puts Hartsfield Near Shooting
• October 29, 2009: Witness Heard Hartsfield Fire Shots
• October 28, 2009: Woman Saw Collier Shot, Can't ID Shooter
• October 27, 2009: Collier Testifies Against Hartsfield
• October 26, 2009: Man On Trial In Jaguars Player Shooting
• April 23, 2009: Hartsfield Jailhouse Calls Released
• April 1, 2009: Collier Shooting Trial Delayed, Again
• March 31, 2009: Richard Collier Shares Story With Other Crime Victims
• March 27, 2009: Collier Shooting Trial Delayed
• March 27, 2009: Richard Collier Thanks Blood Alliance Donors
• March 23, 2009: Trial Of Man Accused Of Shooting Jaguars Player May Be Delayed
• March 19, 2009: Man Faces March 30 Trial In Collier Shooting
• January 14, 2009: Man Accused Of Shooting Jags Player Wants Bond
• January 12, 2009: Ex-Public Defenders Hired To Defend Man Accused Of Shooting Richard Collier
• January 5, 2009: Interviews Gives Details Of Collier Shooting
• December 19, 2008: Collier Returns To Field As Honorary Jaguars Captain
• December 3, 2008: Richard Collier Speaks Out About Shooting
• November 10, 2008: Man Pleads Not Guilty In Jaguar's Shooting
• November 3, 2008: 20 Hospital Workers Fired for Viewing Collier's Medical Records
• October 23, 2008: Jaguars Back At Practice, Thinking Of Collier
• October 20, 2008: Police: Bar Fight Prompted Shooting Of Jaguars' Player
• October 20, 2008: Police Make Arrest In Jaguars' Player Shooting
• October 14, 2008: Rel Rio: Collier Out Of Hospital, Recovering
• October 1, 2008: Woman With Collier On Night Of Shooting Says She Is Tormented
• September 30, 2008: College Honors Collier By Wearing His Number On Helmet
• September 30, 2008: Surgeon: Collier Paralyzed, Loses Left Leg
• September 10, 2008: Woman With Collier On Night Of Shooting Speaks Out
• September 9, 2008: Teammates Add To Reward In Collier Shooting Case
• September 5, 2008: Report: Collier Making Gradual Improvement
• September 3, 2008: Jaguars Tackle Critical After Shooting