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Kristopher Pratt (left) and Ed Thomas appeared in the 14A-1 District Court for a preliminary exam in December.

(Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News)

A 20-year-old Detroit man pleaded guilty in the Washtenaw County Trial Court Friday to second-degree murder in the shooting death of 20-year-old Demarius Reed.

The plea deal calls for an 18-30 year prison term for Kristopher Pratt, who also agreed to testify against his co-defendant, 21-year-old Ed Thomas, when the jury trial begins Monday. Pratt had also ben scheduled for trial on Monday.

Thomas, also of Detroit, could still take a plea deal before the trial begins.

"I was trying to rob him," Pratt told Judge Donald Shelton about the night of the fatal shooting.

Pratt said he and Thomas followed Reed, an Eastern Michigan University football player, into the University Green apartment building where Reed lived in the early morning hours of Oct. 18, 2013.

When Reed resisted, Pratt told the judge he shot him with an HK (Heckler & Koch) handgun.

Shelton asked where he shot Reed and how many times.

"In his side. Twice," Pratt said.

Shelton also asked if Thomas was there, too. Pratt said Thomas was there and that he "took (Reed's) phone and his wallet."

Pratt's brief explanation in court Friday did not depart from what police and testimony at earlier hearings suggested.

Just a few weeks later, Pratt shot at and robbed a man of newly released Air Jordans at Eastland Mall in Harper Woods on Nov. 2, 2013. Police subsequently linked Pratt's gun to both shootings.

Other charges against Pratt will be dismissed and he won't be sentenced as a habitual offender. The plea deal will also allow the prison term to run at the same time as the 7-20 years Pratt is currently serving for the sneaker robbery.

John Counts covers crime and breaking news for The Ann Arbor News. He can be reached at johncounts@mlive.com or you can follow him on Twitter. Find all Washtenaw County crime stories here.