MT. VERNON — A Mt. Vernon man who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges in the 2011 murder of cab driver Charles Ellis was sentenced in Jefferson County Court on Friday.

24-year-old Damondros James was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to the charge in 2014. James had previously shown a desire to withdrawal his guilty plea, but a past motion had been withdrawn.

James who had been facing a range of 20 to 60 years will have to serve the entire sentence.

James along with co-defendants Mark Taylor, Jr., Demandre Black, and Christopher Wells had been accused of killing the 75-year-old Ellis during a botched robbery attempt on May 31, 2011, near the intersection of Sixth and Bell streets.

Wells pleaded guilty to murder charges and is awaiting sentencing, Taylor is awaiting trial on three counts of first-degree murder while Black pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a firearm in October 2015 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.