HAMMOND - Haneef "Breezy" Jackson-Bey, the unpredictable felony defendant who scotched two plea deals last year because he was unwilling to cooperate with authorities in his older brother's murder case, has signed another plea agreement in his federal pimping case.

With a key exception, the plea deal filed on Jackson-Bey's behalf in Hammond federal court in late February is similar to an agreement he signed in October to plead guilty to sex trafficking.

If Jackson-Bey pleads guilty and Senior Judge Rudy Lozano accepts the deal, Jackson-Bey faces a minimum of 15 years in federal prison. By law, Lozano could sentence him to life in prison in the case, which has netted convictions against four accused pimps allegedly led by Justin "Tootie" Cephus, of Hammond.

The crucial difference in Jackson-Bey's new plea deal is that it omits a clause from the previous agreement that called for Jackson-Bey, of East Chicago, to cooperate with investigators looking into "any violation of state or federal law." It was that part of the first plea agreement that led an agitated and sarcastic Jackson-Bey to halt an October change of plea hearing by vowing he will never cooperate with investigators against his brother, convicted murderer Khalid Jackson-Bey.

That last-minute courtroom revolt followed a similar surprise declaration in May at his brother's murder trial for the killing of 19-year-old Dominique Keesee in East Chicago in November 2007. Haneef Jackson-Bey, who pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal in the Keesee case, bolted from the witness stand, and his behavior torpedoed a plea deal on state criminal charges.

Haneef Jackson-Bey since has been sentenced to four years for assisting a criminal, a term he will serve concurrently with a 10-year sentence he received in a separate burglary. Khalid Jackson-Bey is serving a 109-year sentence for the murder and other crimes. Appeals are pending. Khalid Jackson-Bey has denied committing the crimes.

Haneef Jackson-Bey avoided standing trial in November with co-defendants Justin Cephus, Stanton L. "Stan" Cephus and Jovan D. "Geo" Stewart because Jackson-Bey contracted the skin infection methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, also known as MRSA. Stewart and the Cephus brothers, all of Hammond, were convicted on all charges. They all face potential life sentences. Delbert Patterson, of Steger, signed a plea deal and was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release

Haneef Jackson-Bey is slated for a change of plea hearing March 19. His attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday.