DECATUR, IL- A Decatur man was able to avoid a possible life sentence by pleading guilty to a lesser charge.
Under the plea deal, Quentin Sibley, 19, received eight years in prison after pleading guilty to second degree murder in the death of Claude Holmes, Jr.
Sibley was originally charged with three counts of first degree murder and faced up to life in prison.
Holmes was shot during an argument outside a home on East Condit Street, across the street from the Macon County Health Department, on March 28.
Police says Sibley, along with Patrick Walker, went to the home to confront Holmes about stolen money. A fight broke out and Holmes was shot and killed.
Sibley and Walker were found and arrested three days later in Springfield.
Walker pleaded guilty to obstructing justice in October and is now on two years of probation.
Holmes' murder was the first of the year in Decatur.
