An Ewa Beach teenager who ambushed and strangled his neighbor in her carport will have a chance at parole.

The state has agreed not to seek a prison term of life without parole for Vernon Bartley, said Bartley’s lawyer, Jeffrey Hawk.

Hawk said he and the prosecutor have agreed that Bartley, 18, will receive a life prison term with the opportunity for parole for the May 25, 2007, murder of 51-year-old Karen Ertell, plus the maximum sentence for the most serious of the other crimes Bartley committed.

"So what it ends up being is life plus 10 years," Hawk said.

The state says in return Bartley will give up his right to appeal.

The two sides will appear in front of state Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall this morning to formalize the agreement.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 18.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority will decide how long Bartley must remain behind bars before he can apply for parole.

The state says it will ask the parole board to set a substantial minimum term.

Crandall found Bartley guilty in March of murder, burglary, unauthorized use of Ertell’s computer, stealing her car and stealing, possessing and attempting to use Ertell’s credit cards following a nonjury trial.

Bartley was 15 years old when he killed Ertell. A Family Court judge waived jurisdiction over Bartley, allowing the state to prosecute him as an adult.

The mandatory prison sentence for second-degree murder is life with parole. But the state had filed papers seeking an extended term of life without the chance of parole based on the danger Bartley poses to the community.

That would have required another trial in front of a jury argued by another prosecutor to determine Bartley’s eligibility for the harsher penalty.

The prosecutor who handled the case, Douglas Chin, is leaving the Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney on Friday to join the administration of Mayor-elect Peter Carlisle.