NATCHEZ — Despite maintaining his innocence, a Natchez man accused of conspiracy and capital murder pleaded guilty Tuesday to a lesser charge of aggravated assault in the 2014 shooting death of 20-year-old Terrance Thornburg.

Jhakeel Q. Hawkins, 23, entered a guilty plea this afternoon following opening statements and testimony from one witness on the first day of his trial. The plea was agreed to during a short recess of the court.

Sixth Judicial District Court Judge Forrest “Al” Johnson accepted Hawkins’ plea and sentenced him to 15 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with 10 years of the sentence suspended with probation and credit for time served.

Hawkins told the judge he had already spent close to three years in jail. Following a preliminary hearing after his April 2014 arrest, Hawkins was in jail for 400 days without legal representation or a bond before he appeared in court again.

Special Assistant Attorneys General Marvin Sanders and Kimberly Purdie prosecuted the case. The Adams County District Attorney’s Office recused itself because an assistant district attorney had previously represented one of the men arrested in the case.

Hawkins as well as Maurice Davis and Alan Thomas were arrested in the case. Davis pleaded guilty to manslaughter last week. Thomas’ case has been reset for March 2017.