Corey Lucas was killed in a May 25 shooting on Clifton Street. (CBC)

A man who was originally charged with first degree murder is now in the witness protection program, after pleading guilty to a lesser charge in connection with a murder on Halifax's Clifton Street in May.

In a statement of fact agreed upon by the prosecution and the defence, Simon Peter Dugas admitted to disposing of evidence, including of a bloody shirt, and the gun used in the murder.

A judge has rejected a publication ban in the case.

Lawyers for both sides argued in Nova Scotia Supreme Court that the publication of an agreed statement of facts could prejudice a future trial.

The CBC argued that the public has a right to know what goes on in a courtroom; that there are ways of eliminating that sort of bias built into the justice system; and that the facts would come out during a trial, regardless.

Chief Justice Joseph Kennedy agreed with the CBC.

Dugas, 27, was originally arrested and charged with first degree murder, in the May 25 killing of Corey Lucas. The Crown reduced that charge to accessory to murder after the fact, less than 24 hours after Dugas was first charged.

Kennedy convicted Dugas today of being an accessory after the fact, which he said was a very serious crime that would normally carry a lengthy prison term in a federal institution. But because of his co-operation with police, Kennedy followed a joint submission from the Crown and defence, and gave Dugas a conditional sentence of two years less a day.

That means he will serve no time in jail, if he stays out of trouble with the law for the next two years.

Dugas is now in the witness protection program. Kennedy reminded him that the result of his actions is that he will have to look over his shoulder and wonder who is watching him for the rest of his life.

Last week, Jason Matthew Halsley, 27, was arrested without incident in Clayton Park and charged with first degree murder in the case.

Last month Dylan Peter Roach, 20, was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and Jenna Karlene Piercy, 27, was charged with accessory after the fact.