BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - A Vermont man pleaded guilty on Thursday in a double murder case, accepting a deal that removes the possibility of the death penalty but could send him to prison for life.

Theodore Bland accepted a plea agreement from federal prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Bland and the two men who were killed were all part of a drug-dealing ring. The case dates back to February 2023, when two bodies were found off a back road in Eden. The two victims had been shot to death. They were later identified as 21-year-olds Jahim Solomon of Pittsfield, MA and Eric White of Chicopee, MA.

Federal prosecutors say they connected Bland to the murders using social media messages. They also say Bland asked others to help him move the bodies to where they were found in Eden.

At the time, Bland was already facing sentencing on federal drug charges. Prosecutors added gun and murder charges, and the U.S. attorney general approved seeking the death penalty if Bland was convicted.

The plea deal takes the death penalty off the table. Instead, Bland faces time on seven different counts and a sentence of up to life in prison.

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