LAS VEGAS - A man facing eight to 20 years in a Nevada state prison after pleading guilty to trying to kill a mannequin that police posed as a sleeping homeless person will avoid charges in three similar downtown Las Vegas attacks.

Shane Allen Schindler admitted Tuesday that he thought he was attacking a human when he used a heavy hammer to whack the blanket-covered head of the dummy early Feb. 22.

The attack was caught on video and Schindler was arrested by police staked out in the area following fatal attacks Jan. 4 and Feb. 3 on two men who police say were apparently sleeping when they died.

Schindler's plea agreement means he also will not be charged in a Nov. 30 attack on a homeless man who escaped with head injuries.

Schindler's court-appointed lawyer, Ashley Sisolak, says the plea deal was in his best interest.