SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The remaining three men charged in the 2007 beating death of a Spartanburg man have pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

The body of John Costanza was found in a wooded area behind an apartment complex in November. Investigators said Costanza had been beaten to death.

Prosecutors arrested four men in connection with the case. They said the four men beat Costanza after he decided not to join a gang.

Demario Mack, Christopher Foster and Rico Washington were originally charged with murder in the case. During a hearing on Monday, the three men pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree lynching.

Gregory Scott, who prosecutors said was the ringleader of the group, was convicted of murder and lynching in July.

Mack, Foster and Washington will be sentenced at a later date.