WILKES-BARRE — Bryan Hogan's family remembers him as a compassionate man.

That compassion led him to take a homeless couple into his apartment in the Interfaith Heights complex in January 2015 when it got cold outside.

It also led to his death.

Hogan, a 53-year-old Navy veteran known to some as "Hippie," was fatally stabbed to death by the man he tried to help during an alcohol-fueled confrontation on Jan. 26, 2015, according to prosecutors.

On Monday, his killer, 28-year-old Matthew Vantine, was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison for killing a man family members said performed part-time work for the Department of Veterans Affairs and was loved by many.

"He helped people out and for this to happen to him is a shame. There was a lot more good in his life that he had to offer people," Hogan's brother, Kerin Hogan, said. "It's a sad event. It shouldn't have occurred. It was a senseless murder and hopefully he serves most of his 40 years."

According to prosecutors, Vantine and his girlfriend, Jodie Handley, met Hogan at the Mission Shelter at the Sherman Hills Apartment complex about a week before his death. Hogan invited the homeless couple to stay with him because it was getting cold outside, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, Hogan and Vantine spent much of the day Jan. 26, 2015, drinking Natty Daddy beer at Hogan's Interfaith Heights apartment at 294 Reno Court. Around 10 p.m., they decided they needed more.

Both men were concerned that if they went out they would be arrested for public intoxication, so Vantine suggested Handley go instead, according to prosecutors.

Hogan didn't think she should go by herself at night, leading to an argument.

During the dispute, Handley walked to the beer store and bought four more cans of Natty Daddy, prosecutors said.

When she returned, Handley found the argument escalating, with the men pushing and punching each other. At one point, Hogan took off his pants, exposing himself and enraging Vantine, prosecutors said.

Vantine pulled out a folding knife and stabbed Hogan in the chest, severing an artery and a vein, according to prosecutors.

Before Handley left the apartment, she heard Hogan, covered in blood, saying "I'll kill you for this," according to a criminal complaint.

Wilkes-Barre police had Vantine in custody before they even knew there had been a murder.

Officers responding to a knife-point robbery at the Turkey Hill at 200 N. Pennsylvania Ave. a few hours after the stabbing arrested Vantine on charges that he held up the convenience store for $150. They said they found him wearing blood-soaked socks and carrying a folding knife with blood on it.

Three days later, on Jan. 30, 2015, police found Hogan's body in his apartment.

During questioning, Vantine admitted getting into a fight with Hogan, whose DNA matched the blood found on his clothes and knife, prosecutors said.

Last month, Vantine pleaded guilty to third-degree murder as well as robbery, aggravated assault and resisting arrest in the Turkey Hill case. Terms of a plea deal called for Vantine to receive a mandatory 20 to 40 years in prison for third-degree murder, with sentences for the other crimes to run concurrently.

In court Monday, Vantine turned to face Hogan's family as he apologized for his conduct.

"I just want to tell you all I'm very sorry for what happened. I never meant for it to happen," Vantine said. "I wish I could bring him back. ... I messed up. What can I say? I'm going to do my time like a man and come home."

His attorney, Demetrius Fannick, told Luzerne County President Judge Richard M. Hughes III that Vantine has accepted responsibility and expressed remorse since the stabbing took place. He requested the judge abide by the plea agreement.

Assistant District Attorney Brian Coleman noted that Vantine admitted killing the very man who took him in and tried to help him.

"Mr. Hogan was doing something compassionate for Mr. Vantine by bringing him in," Coleman said.

Hughes said he appreciated Vantine's apology and that he would abide by the terms of the plea agreement.

He ordered Vantine to serve an aggregate 20- to 40-year prison sentence on all the offenses as well as to pay $2,263 in restitution to Hogan's family and about $11,300 to the district attorney's office. Vantine will also be required to attend anger management therapy.

570-821-2058, @cvjimhalpin