Local News in Brief : Gunman Pleads Guilty

A hired gunman who shot and critically wounded a wealthy physician in the Hollywood Hills pleaded guilty Friday to attempting to murder the doctor, allegedly on behalf of the victim’s son.

In a plea bargain with the district attorney’s office, Eric Barnes, 22, of Hollywood, agreed to testify against the son, David Ellis, 21, if he is ever charged in the attempted murder of his father. Prosecutors said Ellis remains an uncharged suspect in the case.

Barnes, who pleaded guilty midway through his preliminary hearing in Municipal Court, is scheduled to be sentenced in Superior Court May 13 to 12 years in state prison. Under a plea bargain with prosecutors, charges of conspiracy to commit murder and burglary will be dismissed.

Dr. Robert Ellis was shot four times in the head and chest as he lay in bed in his Hollywood Hills home Dec. 2, but he survived.

David Ellis was arrested in the shooting but was later released due to a lack of evidence. He has denied any wrongdoing and told police he was asleep in another bedroom the night of the shooting but did not hear any gunfire.