SAN ANTONIO (October 23, 2012)--Construction worker Elijah Jon Lucero, 32, who was accused of selling his boss' tools to fuel a drug binge, has agreed to a life sentence for stabbing his dealers to death when he tried to get the items back the next day.

Lucero avoided a capital murder trial by pleading guilty to murder in a deal that makes him eligible for parole in 30 years.

Lucero would have received life in prison without parole on a capital murder conviction.

Authorities say the bodies of Daniela Medrano, 24, and Edward Cisneros, 29, were found in Medrano’s San Antonio apartment in February 2011.

They each had been stabbed about 30 times.

A prosecutor says a previous drug conviction makes it unlikely Lucero will be granted parole.