Nearly six months after the Wyoming Supreme Court threw out his conviction, a Casper man pleaded guilty Wednesday to aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of his friend.

Cody Lee Edwards, 27, made the plea as part of an agreement with prosecutors, who will ask that he serve no more than five to nine years in prison. He could have faced up to 20 years in prison.

During a short hearing in Natrona County District Court, Edwards admitted he was too intoxicated to drive safely when his Dodge Ram pickup crashed on Interstate 25 near Casper in February 2005. His passenger, David Southworth, died in the crash.

In 2005, a Natrona County jury convicted Edwards of vehicular homicide and a judge sentenced him to eight to 14 years in prison. However, the Wyoming Supreme Court in September threw out Edwards' conviction, ruling the trial court improperly excluded evidence.

At trial, his defense centered on the claim Southworth caused the crash by grabbing the pickup's steering wheel. The justices ruled the trial court should have allowed the defense to introduce testimony from Schon Demel, who said Southworth had grabbed his steering wheel under similar circumstances a few weeks before the fatal crash.

Demel died in September 2005 - one month after Edwards' trial.

The death of that witness played into the prosecution's decision to reach a plea agreement, said Natrona County District Attorney Michael Blonigen.

"So we are left with a very tricky legal issue, about whether, or how that testimony might be admissible," he said. "And we are definitely looking, even if we got another conviction, of another appeal on what is a fairly tricky point of law."

Blonigen said he also considered the time Edwards has already served in prison.

On Feb. 5, 2005, Edwards and Southworth were returning from the Northern Dreams strip club north of Casper when Edwards' pickup hit barriers on both sides of Interstate 25 before rolling on the highway. Tests showed Edwards had a blood alcohol concentration of .26, Blonigen said, more than three times the legal limit to be considered driving drunk.

Edwards didn't dispute being intoxicated at the time of the crash. In fact, he testified at trial to having about 10 drinks before getting behind the wheel. However, his attorney claimed Southworth had grabbed at the steering wheel twice, with the truck crashing into a concrete barrier after the second attempt.

Edwards remains free on bond pending his sentencing, which hasn't been scheduled yet. Wyoming Department of Corrections records show he was released from the Wyoming Honor Farm in Riverton on Oct. 9.

If Edwards was to receive another prison sentence, he would get credit for the two years he served under the original conviction, Blonigen said.

Reach Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com.