NATCHEZ &045; An accessory in the murder of John Vasser was sentenced Monday to five years with the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Thomas Andrew Briggs, 26, 741 Esplanade, New Orleans, was charged with accessory to capital murder. Judge Forrest A. Johnson sentenced him to five years with credit for time served since his August 2003 arrest. After release he will be supervised by law enforcement officers.

Nathan M. Hogan, 20, pled guilty to the murder of Vasser in November and was sentenced to life in prison with the MDOC. He will be eligible for parole when he is 65.

Hogan pled to the lesser charge of murder instead of the capital murder charge he faced. Capital murder carries a possible death penalty.

Vasser, 39, was found dead on July 29, 2003 half-submerged in his family’s pond on their Morgantown Road property. He had been shot three times the night before. Hogan and Vasser were acquaintances.

Briggs and Kim Magyar, also arrested in August on charges of accessory to capital murder, were found in New Orleans before Hogan, and led authorities to Hogan. Hogan was arrested a day after Briggs and Magyar.

After the murder Hogan led authorities on a two-week search before he was found in New Orleans.