An Elkhart man convicted in connection with a deadly shooting nearly three years ago has been sentenced to 45 years in prison. 25-year-old Cortez Wheeler pleaded guilty to the murder of 25 year-old Cordero Williams-El during a shooting outside Gemini’s Bar and Grill on U.S. 33 in Elkhart in late November 2012. He was arrested on a warrant while serving time at Wabash Valley facility for a burglary conviction. During last week's sentencing hearing, Williams-El’s mother said her son did not deserve to die. Wheeler’s attorney said that in all his conversations with his client, Cortez always told him how remorseful he was.