MOUNT VERNON — The Fifth District Appellate Court has upheld a defense motion in a case against one of four men charged in connection to the 2011 fatal shooting of a 75-year-old Mt. Vernon cab driver.
(Source: JCSO)
Mark Taylor Jr., one of four men charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Charles Ellis in his cab on May 31, 2011, during an armed robbery near the intersection of Sixth and Bell streets.
The now 23-year-old Taylor is facing three counts of first-degree murder in the more than 5-year-old case.
In 2014, Judge David Overstreet ruled a statement Taylor allegedly made to police on the night of the murder could not be used at trial.
Prosecutors appealed that ruling, but on Tuesday the Appellate Court affirmed the decision.
Prosecutors say they will now appeal the Appellate Court’s decision to the Illinois Supreme Court, which is next in session in September
The three others charged in with Ellis’ murder are Demandre Black, Christopher Wells, and Damondros James.
Black was sentenced in October 2015 to 20 years in prison after pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a firearm.