Richard Van Arsdale III, 21, pleaded guilty to the charge of residential burglary in a plea agreement at Friday’s status hearing.

Van Arsdale was sentenced to nine years in the department of corrections for the residential burglary charge and all other charges were dropped, said Phil Montgomery, DeKalb County assistant state’s attorney.

Van Arsdale was one of the former NIU students charged in connection with the April 5 shooting of NIU linebacker Devon Butler.

In a prepared statement, Van Arsdale said he apologized to Devon Butler, his family and the community for his actions.

“I can never erase the blot I put on my character and on my family’s name,” Van Arsdale said.

Judge William Brady said one thing he has learned over the years is sometimes “good people can do bad things.”

“You can’t change history, but you can make sure the future doesn’t look like the past,” Brady said.

Van Arsdale posted $15, 785.97 in restitution and $5,000 to the DeKalb Police Department, for officers who had to work overtime on the investigation of the case.

The charge of residential burglary is a Class One felony and Van Arsdale must serve at least 50 percent of his sentence. Upon his release, Van Arsdale will be placed on parole for two years.