A man accused in the shooting death of Reginald "Shay" Nicholson entered a plea deal Thursday and the judge has accepted it.

The judge accepted Zackery Turner's deal as it was entered, which means he pleaded guilty to one count of first degree murder and two firearms counts.

Under the deal, Turner will spend a total of 30 years in prison and ten years on supervised probation.

Nicholson was shot in November 2008 while at a party at a Harrisonburg apartment complex. He died from his injuries 12 days later.

His killing was the first gang-related murder in Harrisonburg.

Commonwealth's Attorney Marsha Garst says the decision for attorneys and Nicholson's family to accept a plea agreement came very recently.

"One of their primary concerns was their ability to relive this tragedy, and the hardship it would present for the family," says Garst.

Garst says Turner was a member of a gang in Charlottesville. There has been no evidence linking Nicholson to gang activity.

One of Turner's attorneys, Warren Picciolo, says, "This was a personal decision made by my client, and his family after consultation with his council. It wasn't necessarily solely based on the legal merits of the case."

Turner declined to say anything when the judge offered him a chance to speak.

Investigators have not found the murder weapon, a .45 caliber handgun. As part of the agreement, Turner will help them in the search.

"[Turner] is the biggest weapon, the shooter, of course. A gun is simply a tool. But we certainly want to make sure we can get the murder weapon off the street to assure it's not used again," says Garst.

Four other men were also arrested in connection to this crime. Three of them are scheduled to be in court next month. The fourth is currently free on bond.