The driver who killed a Lawrence woman in a high-speed police chase in August 2003 pleaded guilty today after striking a deal that might allow him to spend less time in prison.

Nam Ouk Cho, 21, Lee’s Summit, Mo., pleaded guilty to all four charges against him: second-degree murder and one count each of possession of methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. In exchange for the plea, Dist. Atty. Charles Branson’s office agreed to recommend that Cho be given a lighter sentence than the one spelled out under sentencing guidelines.

When Cho is sentenced March 22, Branson’s office will recommend Cho be given 90 months, or 7-1/2 years, in prison, provided that a criminal-history investigation shows that Cho has no more than one felony in his background.

Branson said he accepted the plea because of the risk that jurors would find Cho guilty of lesser charges at trial. In several recent traffic fatalities in Douglas County, jurors or judges have found drivers not guilty of felonies and instead have found them guilty of misdemeanor vehicular homicide.

“We felt it was more appropriate to have a conviction as charged and have the higher sentence we agreed to than it was to run the risk of the jury coming back with the lesser charge,” Branson said.

Because Cho’s criminal-history score hasn’t yet been determined, it’s not know what sentence Cho would have faced had he not been allowed to plead. But under sentencing guidelines someone with one felony in his past normally would face 146 months, or about 12 years, for second-degree murder. Someone with no criminal record would face 117 months.

Cho was fleeing from Lawrence Police in his customized street racer when he struck and killed 56-year-old Judith Vellucci at 31st Street and Nieder Road.