PORTLAND – A Portland man who was charged with murdering his roommate nearly two years ago in the city’s West End has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Victoriano Dubon, 39, was accused of fatally stabbing 47-year-old Jose Morales in their Gilman Street apartment on June 26, 2005. Dubon was arrested in East Boston, Mass., five days after the slaying.

Dubon, who was scheduled to go on trial Monday in Cumberland County Superior Court, entered the plea under a deal with prosecutors that caps his maximum sentence at 20 years. If found guilty of murder, he would have faced 25 years to life.

No date has been set for sentencing.