LOS ANGELES >> One of two men charged with the fatal shootings of two Chinese graduate students in Los Angeles has pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder.

City News Service says Bryan Barnes entered his pleas today in Los Angeles Superior Court and was immediately sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Barnes also admitted two so-called special circumstances that could have made him eligible for the death penalty.

Engineering students Ming Qu and Ying Wu were shot as they sat in a car about a mile from the University of Southern California on April 11, 2012. Both were 23 years old.

Co-defendant Javier Bolden is awaiting trial on murder charges. He has pleaded not guilty.