A Colorado Springs man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Tuesday for causing the death of a man near Dorchester Park last year. 

Bryce Daniels, 20, faced several charges — including first-degree murder — for allegedly shooting and killing Jesse Schiele III, 21, under a bridge near Dorchester Park in April of last year. 

At Daniels’ preliminary hearing in September, prosecutors presented evidence detailing how a witness to the shooting allegedly picked Daniels out of a lineup. 

That witness was at Dorchester Park with Schiele for most of the day before a man he referred to as “Zilo” brandished a handgun and pointed it at them, Colorado Springs police Detective Matthew Kerr testified during the preliminary hearing. 

The witness told Kerr that the man with the gun tried to shoot Schiele, but the gun jammed. When the shooter cocked the gun again, the witness ran to hide and heard one gunshot followed by five more shots in rapid succession. Kerr said Schiele was shot several times.

The witness told Kerr that he met Zilo before the shooting at a rehabilitation center in Colorado Springs and that he suspected Schiele knew Zilo before the shooting, as well. 

Detectives confirmed that Daniels used the street name Zilo by obtaining documentation from the rehabilitation center where the witness claimed he met Daniels. Schiele, Daniels and the witness were homeless when the shooting occurred, Kerr said.

Prosecutors also played a video recording on Thursday in which they say Daniels can be seen shooting Schiele as witnesses beg him not to shoot. 

Daniels pleaded guilty to an amended count of second-degree murder which carries a maximum prison sentence of 48 years, according to the terms of the plea agreement read by Judge David Gilbert.

“I knowingly caused the death of the victim,” Daniels said simply when asked by Gilbert what he did that makes him guilty. 

The second-degree murder plea means Daniels will avoid the mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole that a possible conviction on first-degree murder carries with it in the state of Colorado. A second case where Daniels faces a charge of tampering with a victim or witness will also be dismissed as part of the plea agreement. 

Daniels’ sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place in April, he remains in custody at the El Paso County jail on a $5 million bond.