COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A former Fort Carson soldier who
was charged with murder in the death of a fellow Iraq veteran has
pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a deal with prosecutors.

Kenneth Lee Eastridge pleaded guilty in El Paso County District
Court this month to accessory to murder. In exchange, prosecutors
dropped charges of first-degree murder and other counts.

The agreement requires the 24-year-old Eastridge to testify
against two co-defendants. He's expected to be sentenced to 10
years in prison.

Eastridge used to live in Louisville, Ky., and The Courier-Journal has reported that he was convicted at age 12 of reckless homicide in the shooting death of his 12-year-old neighbor.

Eastridge, Bruce Bastien Jr. and Louis Bressler were charged in the December shooting death of 24-year-old Kevin Shields in Colorado Springs. Bastien and Bressler are awaiting trial.
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Information from: The Gazette

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