[MaryJane]

Tennis ace SERENA WILLIAMS addressed her sister's killer in court in Los Angeles yesterday (06APR06) in an effort to make him understand how much pain his actions have inflicted upon her family.

Gang member ROBERT EDWARD MAXFIELD, 25, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading no contest to the voluntary manslaughter of YETUNDE PRICE in 2003.

The mother-of-three was killed when Maxfield fired a volley of bullets at the vehicle she was driving past a known Crips gang headquarters.

Her then-boyfriend, who was a passenger in the vehicle, has since been outed as a Los Angeles gang member.

Standing up in the Compton courthouse just before Maxfield was led away in handcuffs, Serena Williams said, "I wasn't going to speak today because it's hard for me to talk. This was unfair to our family, and our family has always been positive and we always try to help people."

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