Man accused in 1988 stabbing pleads guilty

BELOIT, Wis. -- A murder suspect who'd been on the run for nearly two decades has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

Ezequiel Lopez-Savala was originally charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of 22-year-old David Landwehr during a fight in the driveway of a home in Beloit, Wis., in 1988.

Although he was stopped and jailed in Illinois' Winnebago County later that morning, he made bail and disappeared.

It wasn't until October 2007 when he was pulled over for a minor traffic violation in Bellevue, Wash., that he was arrested for the killing.

The now 43-year-old pleaded to manslaughter while using a dangerous weapon. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 12.