***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 3, 2015

WHEELER PLEADS GUILTY TO MURDER FOR 2012 SHOOTING OUTSIDE GEMINI'S BAR

Media Contact: Curtis T. Hill, Jr. (574) 296-1888

On Monday, March 2, 2015, the day his jury trial was scheduled to begin, Cortez Wheeler pleaded guilty to Murder in Elkhart County Circuit Court. Wheeler was charged with Murder and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon, a Class B felony for the November 2012 death of Cordero Williams-El. Cordero Williams-El was shot in the chest after as he was leaving Gemini's Bar and Grill in Dunlap. Prosecutors dismissed the Unlawful Possession charge as part of the plea agreement.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 2, 2015 in Elkhart County Circuit Court before Judge Terry Shewmaker. This case was handled by Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Vicki Becker and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eric Ditton.

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“Under Indiana law, all persons arrested for a criminal offense are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”