DENVER -- Lisl Auman pleaded guilty Monday to burglary and accessory charges in the shooting death of a Denver police officer who was gunned down while she sat handcuffed in a patrol car.

Lisl Auman Pleads Guilty Discuss Case Site For Auman Supporters

As part of the agreement, prosecutors dropped the original felony first-degree murder charge and a second burglary charge.

Lisl Auman, 30, was awaiting a new trial on charges stemming from the 1997 death of Denver police Officer Bruce VanderJagt, 47.

Under the agreement, prosecutors said they would ask for a sentence of up to 20 years in community corrections. With good behavior, it could mean Auman would serve as little as 8 years in a halfway-house. She has already served 8 years in prison.

Auman will be sentenced on Aug. 22.

The state Supreme Court threw out her first-degree-murder conviction and life prison sentence in March, ruling the jury in her original trial had received improper instructions.

Auman was handcuffed in the back of a police car when Matthaus Jaehnig shot VanderJagt to death and then killed himself with VanderJagt's handgun.

Because Auman was part of the original crime and allegedly failed to help police with information at the scene, she was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison. She had no prior arrest record.

Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman said he respected the district attorney's decision not to re-try the case and released a statement that said in part:

"If released to community corrections, I hope Ms. Auman takes advantage of the second chance that has been granted her by a technicality of the legal system to undo the damage she has done to the innocent people who suffered from her criminal actions."

Auman's case caught the nation's attention after celebrities including the late Hunter S. Thompson and Warren Zevon who rallied for her freedom. They and other supporters questioned the fairness of the felony murder law that sent her to prison for life with no chance of parole.

Supporters of Auman set up a Web site to help garner support for her.