A Preemption man denied in his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea in an armed violence case. The matter was heard this afternoon in Mercer County Circuit Court and turned down by Judge Greg Chickris. 29 year old Alex Cady originally pleaded guilty to the Class X felony last October and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The armed violence charge stemmed from an incident in the Viola area last June. A co-defendant in the case, 29 year old Donovan Smith of Sherrard is charged federally with two counts of unlawful transport of firearms. He was shot by a Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputy during the weapons investigation and the shooting was later ruled justified by the Mercer and Henry County Major Crimes Task Force. Smith will next appear in federal court on April 23rd. He remains in U.S. Marshals Service custody. Cady is serving his sentence at the Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg.