The Marine accused of strangling a gay man pleaded guilty June 1 to second-degree murder and asked the judge for immediate sentencing.

James Alexander Hardy, 20, received 15-years-to-life in state prison and a $10,000 fine from San Diego Superior Court Judge Bernard Revak for killing Raymund Catolico, 39, in his Little Italy apartment on Feb. 9, 2006, after he said Catolico performed oral sex on him.

Deputy District Attorney Dan Link said the only punishment for second-degree murder is 15-years-to-life, so there was little reason to delay sentencing since Hardy wanted to get it over with. Link had called the victim’s father and three of Catolico’s co-workers and they were all present for the guilty plea and sentencing.

Because Hardy asked for immediate sentencing, his jail credits couldn’t be tallied immediately, and they will be sent to him at whatever prison he is assigned. Hardy has been in jail since Feb. 11, 2006.

Link said his office talked to Catolico’s family about a possible guilty plea to second-degree murder. He said the family approved of it and wanted it over with.

“We don’t take any pleas without talking to the family,” Link said. “The family got a lot of closure. They’re relieved that this is finally all over and they can get on with their lives. His father was sad for the brutal thing Mr. Hardy did to his son.”

According to Hardy’s testimony, he met Catolico at the Greyhound station in downtown San Diego. He said Catolico invited him home, where they drank. Hardy said he turned down Catolico’s sexual proposition and slept on the couch. Hardy said the next day Catolico took him to the bus station and that, 10 days later, when he returned, he called Catolico, who picked him up.

Hardy claimed he fell asleep in Catolico’s bed after Catolico gave him a massage and awoke to find Catolico positioning himself for sex. He said Catolico then performed oral sex, and after Hardy ejaculated, he used his arm to manually strangle Catolico. Hardy is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. Catolico was shorter and weighed 150 pounds.

The District Attorney’s Office initially filed a hate crime charge against Hardy that alleged he harbored bias against Catolico because he was gay.

Hardy’s attorneys filed arguments seeking dismissal of the charge, saying Hardy was never quoted as saying anything negative about gays. Revak dismissed the hate crime charge on April 26 after the D.A.’s Office agreed to it.

Catolico worked as a credit analyst at J.P. Morgan. According to testimony at Hardy’s preliminary hearing, when Catolico didn’t show up for work, a co-worker called his home and Hardy answered.

Hardy said he was a friend and gave his first name, but the co-worker was suspicious. Later that night, the co-worker said he convinced the landlord to enter Catolico’s apartment, but they couldn’t find him.

The co-worker said that two days later he asked the landlord to enter Catolico’s apartment again, and this time they looked under the sink and found Catolico’s nude body in fetal position. They called police, who discovered Hardy’s backpack in the apartment. It contained a Greyhound bus ticket in his name and other information identifying him as a U.S. Marine. U.S. Marine officials arrested Hardy at the request of San Diego Police.

Link said had it not been for Hardy’s co-workers and friends, the case might not have been solved as quickly. “The persistence of his friends and co-workers sped the process up in capturing the defendant,” he said.

Attorneys representing Hardy did not return calls for comment on this story.