A judge imposed a three-year prison sentence on a man who was criminally charged after fatally punching a man at Dolphie’s Lounge.

Timmy Ray Cowles, 37, was sentenced Tuesday in Warren Circuit Court, having previously pleaded guilty to a count of reckless homicide in connection with the death of 42-year-old Brad Bunger, of Bowling Green.

Bunger sustained facial and skull injuries from the Feb. 22 punch outside the now-closed Scottsville Road nightclub, and died two days later at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

Cowles, who was represented by attorney Matt Baker, was indicted on a charge of second-degree manslaughter and faced a maximum prison sentence of 10 years before pleading guilty to the lesser charge of reckless homicide.

Three of Bunger’s surviving relatives submitted victim impact statements for the case file describing how his death affected them.

Warren County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Daniel “Tres” Miller read statements from Bunger’s mother, Robin Spinks, and his brother, Addam North.

Spinks wrote that she was “wracked by painful anger at the senselessness” of her son’s death and expressed hope that Cowles would use the time behind bars to “make positive changes” to his life in her son’s memory.

“Losing a child is dreadfully complicated to explain but to lose him in this manner compounds every emotion,” Spinks wrote. “Bradley had achieved so much in his young life with high hopes for the future.”

Briley Bunger, Brad’s daughter, read her victim impact statement in court Tuesday, saying that she felt her father’s life was worth more than the three years to which Cowles was sentenced.

“With one decision, you permanently changed my family’s lives for the worse,” Briley Bunger said. “I do not understand how anyone could believe that putting their hands on another person would make a situation better. Everyone in this courtroom knows that it was unnecessary.”

The Bowling Green Police Department investigated Bunger’s death, collecting statements from witnesses and reviewing surveillance video footage from Dolphie’s that showed the punch.

BGPD Detective Jess Parry testified last year at a preliminary hearing that police learned that Bunger and his girlfriend had been part of a group of friends who were at Dolphie’s the night of Feb. 22 and that Bunger had gotten intoxicated to the point that he was asked to leave the bar.

Bunger left with his girlfriend, but they returned so that she could retrieve her cellphone that she had left behind, and Bunger also attempted to re-enter the business, Parry testified.

Cowles assisted an employee at the bar in attempting to get Bunger to leave the business.

Parry said that the video footage showed Cowles walking Bunger backward out of the bar and grabbing onto Bunger’s clothing with both hands just outside the front door, with Bunger making a sweeping motion with his right hand that caused Cowles’ left hand to lose his grip on Bunger’s shirt.

Cowles then punched Bunger in the face with his left hand, causing Bunger to fall back and hit his head on the pavement.

Parry testified that Cowles later told police he thought Bunger was getting ready to swing at him, but the detective said she did not observe a threat to Cowles when she reviewed the video footage.

Cowles, who had a prior history as a bar bouncer, was drinking as a patron at Dolphie’s the night of the incident and left soon after throwing the punch.

He turned himself in to police three days afterward.