COLUMBIANA – A Columbiana man will spend over two decades behind bars after he recently pleaded guilty to the Class A felony charge of attempted murder.

Louis Henry Knight, 55, who formerly listed an address in Birmingham, was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the Shelby County Circuit Court on Monday, Nov. 13. Knight began his sentence on the day of the plea hearing. He was also ordered to avoid initiating any contact with his victim.

According to court documents, Knight has no other prior adult felony convictions.

After his 2015 indictment, Knight initially pleaded not guilty and filed a motion to reduce his bond of $500,000, which was denied by Shelby County Circuit Judge Lara M. Alvis. Court documents deemed Knight a flight risk, “as his entire family lives out of town.”

Knight’s attorney also made a motion for a court-ordered mental examination, which was denied by Shelby County Circuit Judge William H. Bostick III on Nov. 7.

Knight’s conviction stems from an incident on Dec. 14, 2014 on the 3000 block of Ritha Circle in North Shelby, when Knight allegedly shot his victim three times with a pistol, “with the intent to commit the crime of murder,” according to his indictment, which was filed in September on 2015. He was later arrested on Dec. 20, 2014.

Court documents state that prosecutors used an incident in 2012, when Knight held a gun to his victim’s head during an argument, as evidence of his guilt.