A Roanoke man convicted Wednesday of being involved in second degree murder will serve eight years in prison.
 
Joshua M. Frazier accepted an agreement in Roanoke Circuit Court in which he entered an Alford plea to a second-degree murder as a principle and using a firearm in a murder. An Alford plea means that Frazier does not admit his guilt, but concedes that the state has enough evidence to convict him.
 
In addition to amending the murder charge from first to second-degree as a principle, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney John McNeil also agreed not to prosecute charges of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and felony obstruction of justice.
 
Frazier and another Roanoke man, Hasin Alamin Hubert, fired at James Stokes on May 10, 2008 near Afton Garden Apartments on Hunt Avenue Northwest. The shooting was the result of an ongoing feud between Stokes and a group of men that included Frazier and Hubert, McNeil said.
 
In keeping with the plea agreement, Judge Clifford Weckstein sentenced Frazier to 40 years suspended after 5 years on the murder charge, and three years for using a firearm in a murder.
 
Hubert was convicted of first-degree murder in July and sentenced to 18 years in July.
 
Stokes' family said after the sentencing that they were unhappy with the prosecution of the cases.
 
"Five years for somebody's life, that's not fair," said Janice Hairston, Stokes' aunt.