John Stiles, a spokesman for Mr Ellison, said Mr Lane pleaded guilty to the state charge before Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill, who set a sentencing date at September 21. State prosecutors and Mr. Lane’s defense jointly recommended a three-year prison sentence, he said.
Now that Mr. Lane has pleaded, the June 13 trial will continue without him because the state has dismissed Mr. Lane’s second charge, Mr. Stiles said.
“We are still ahead of trial on both counts” of the other defendants, Mr Stiles said.
Mr Lane’s solicitor, Earl Grey, said in a telephone interview that Mr Lane, who has a newborn, ‘wanted to be a part of the child’s life’ and did not want to risk losing the murder case.
“After a lot of soul-searching, that’s what we decided to do,” Mr Gray said, referring to the guilty plea. He will be served concurrently with his federal sentence, for which there was no date. Mr Lane would serve two years of the 36-month sentence, Mr Gray said.