Two men pleading guilty to manslaughter Monday, received harsh sentences for their crime.

Hector Ricardo Avalos, 22,  received a life sentence for manslaughter, and Jonathan Isaac Zuria, 22,  netted 25 years, both also guilty of arson and kidnapping.

Avalos also plead guilty to conspiring to kill the victim's drug runner who witnessed the crimes.

Both men were originally charged with first-degree murder for the 2005 home invasion and killing of a man who was a reputed gangster. but both pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The sentences attached, carry heavy weight.

"It was agreed that each offender was at the upper end of the culpability level," said prosecutor Ashley Finlayson.

Back in December 2005, police found Sergio Arguello dead in his burning Mill Woods home. He had been shot to death during a home invasion gone wrong.

Arguello was a suspected gang member and cocaine dealer and was targeted for drug money.

"The message is, these types of offences ,a home invasion, robberies where death ensues, they are amongst the most serious offences around," said Finlayson.

It's never been proven who pulled the trigger.

Both men apologized to Arguello's family, but they were not in court Monday to hear it.

The two men are getting a chance at parole eligibility sooner than they might have had, if they had been convicted of murder.

With files from CTV's David Ewasuk