COMPTON, Calif. - A gang member accused of shooting to death the half-sister of tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison.

Robert Edward Maxfield, 25, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of Yetunde Price outside a crack house in 2003 as she rode by in a sport utility vehicle. She was not the target, prosecutors said.

Price, 31, owned a beauty shop and was a personal assistant to her sisters, who began their tennis careers in Compton.

Prosecutors said Maxfield was seeking revenge on another gang at the time of the killing. His two trials ended in hung juries.

Serena Williams appeared at the sentencing, telling the judge that the slaying "was unfair to our family, and our family has always been positive and we always try to help people."