A man has pleaded guilty in the shooting deaths of two men whose bodies were found in an eastern Pennsylvania park almost two years ago.
The Pocono Record reports that 30-year-old Luis Vasquez of Pocono Summit entered the plea Monday in Monroe County Court to two counts of third-degree murder.
Defense attorney John McMahon Jr. said his client had considered a mental disability defense but decided to plead guilty in the August 2012 deaths of 55-year-old Bertoldo Velez and 38-year-old Joseph King.
Prosecutors said Vasquez shot the Stroud Township men after meeting them in a Coolbaugh Township park to try to settle a $20,000 debt.
Vasquez remains in Monroe County Correctional Facility without bail as county probation officials assemble a pre-sentencing investigation report.
According to the Pocono Record, Vasquez could face 20 to 40 years in state prison on each of two third-degree murder counts, as opposed to execution or life without parole if he decides to withdraw his plea, goes to trial in July, and is convicted.
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