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Guilty plea in drug dealer death

RALEIGH , N.C., Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A federal prisoner has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 1999 death of an alleged drug dealer who died duct-taped to a tree in North Carolina.

Curtis Brinson, 31, pleaded guilty to the reduced charge in exchange for prosecutors dropping a first-degree murder charge and guaranteeing he will not serve more than 12 to 15 years in prison for the crime, the Raleigh (N.J.) News & Observer reported Thursday.

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Brinson also agreed to testify against his co-defendants as part of the deal. Three co-defendants previously identified Brinson as the man who beat Rodney Austin -- who was described by prosecutors as a drug dealer -- with a rifle before he was duct-taped to a tree and left to die.

Co-defendant Rodney Riggins pleaded guilty to being an accessory to first-degree murder. Andre Walker is currently facing murder charges and a fourth suspect, referred to in court as "B," has yet to be charged.

Brinson's sentence will be served concurrently with a jail term he is currently serving for a federal gun crime.

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