Two men have pleaded guilty to murdering a man in Addor in May 2008.

Martin Devon McMillan and Justin Raynal Cotton both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery in the shooting death of Donald Sands Jr. on May 12, 2008.

McMillian accepted his plea deal Wednesday, and in an unexpcted move, Cotton entered his plea today.

Cotton’s is an Alfrod plea, meaning that he felt it was in his best interest to accept the deal without admitting actual guilt. He had been charged with capital murder and could have faced the death penalty if convicted.

Sentencing for both defendants was delayed until April or May because Cotton’s attorneys are waiting for mitigation testimony.

As a condition of their plea arrangements, McMillan and Cotton must testify against each other if called by the state.

On Wednesday in McMillian’s case, Assistant District Attorney Peter Strickland said Sands went to Addor to see Elsie Hailey, but she was not at home.

“He saw her door was padlocked,” Strickland told the court. “He confronts Cotton and the defendant, and offers a Seneca cigarette to Cotton.”

Cotton tried to rob Sands, holding him up with a .22 rifle, Strickland said.

“Three shots were fired,” Strickland said. “One hit him in the back and one in the head.”

When Hailey returned to her home, she saw Sands’ car and went to investigate with her flashlight.

“She found Sands bleeding,” he said. “She called 911.”

Investigators collected two .22-caliber shell casings at the scene along with a Coke cup and a cigarette butt. Cotton’s DNA was on it.

Sands’ mother and father were both in court, as they have been time after time in the cases against the two men accused in the murder of their son.