Your headline is not correct Mr. Moran.  No where in the story does it say he admitted anything.  A plea bargain, as you well know is not an admission of true guilt.  Plea bargains happen all the time and occur because the DA levels serious felony charges often with 5+ years mandatory prison for pretty trivial offenses.  Then the DA approaches the accused and says plead guilty to a misdemeanor with only probation and I will drop the felony charges.  The defense lawyer immediately says we can beat them in court but there is always the risk you will be found guilty because many jurors believe guilt on charge regardless of facts.  So the defense, lawyer working on a flat rate fee regardless of how many days he spends on  the case and trials eat up time, says best for you to take the plea bargain.  Guilt has nothing to do with it, it's just how the system works.