Murder or self-defense? Trial begins in fatal 2022 shooting at Elyria's Midview Crossing

ELYRIA — There are two versions of what happened during a wild shootout at the Midview Crossing apartment complex on Middle Avenue in Elyria on Oct. 27, 2022. In both, a 24-year-old man died and a 21-year-old man was seriously wounded but survived to face criminal charges. What is in dispute is whether the case was one of murder, or self-defense in the face of an ambush, assisant Lorain County prosecutors and defense attorneys said Tuesday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. Henry Spooner is charged with murder, felonious assault, having weapons under disability, tampering with evidence and improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle in the death of 24-year-old Jordan Flanigan. Spooner, 23, has pleaded not guilty and is arguing self-defense. Eleven women and three men were chosen Tuesday to serve on the jury, with two alternates to be picked after testimony concludes. Judge Giovanna Bremke said she expects the trial to last two weeks. Prosecutors alleged that Spooner shot Flanigan in the head, killing him instantly. Flanigan's friends returned a frantic volley of gunshots at Spooner, who was hit twice. Elyria police officers testified they recovered nearly a dozen spent 9 mm shell casings at the scene in the aftermath. Spooner nearly didn't survive: He died during medical treatment but was resuscitated, defense attorney R.J. Budway told the jury, and has a bullet lodged in his head to this day. So that the jury wouldn't be prejudiced hearing about his criminal history, Spooner waived his right to have a jury consider the weapons under disability charge and a repeat violent offender specification. Bremke alone will decide Spooner's guilt or innocence in those matters. The incident Assistant Prosecutor Daniellela Leigh told jurors Flanigan was staying at Midview Crossing and hanging out in an apartment with his friends. They included Antwon President Jr. and President's 15-year-old brother. At the same time, Spooner and four other men including cousins Demetrius and Harold Wilis were driving around Elyria in a blue Jeep Cherokee, filming themselves drinking and singing violent rap songs, Leigh said. Some of the fatal confrontation ended up caught on surveillance video after the Spooner crew showed up at Building H at Midview Crossing where Flanigan and the Presidents already were. Things escalated back outside in the parking lot, Leigh told the jury: Spooner fatally shot Flanigan in the head, then Antwon President picked up Flanigan's gun and shot at Spooner. Also armed, the 15-year-old President brother shot Spooner in the head and abdomen, an act the Prosecutor's Office later determined was justified and for which he was only convicted of a misdemeanor. Spooner's friends drove him to University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center, and he later was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. Officers later saw and chased the Jeep out of Midview Crossing. It crashed into a light pole in front of Elyria High School on Middle Avenue, where Harold Willis and Demetrius Willis jumped out and ran but were quickly arrested. Harold Willis tossed a gun out of the Jeep as it fled from officers, a gun police later recovered. Interviewed by Elyria police, Spooner told them he was "just caught in the crossfire, wrong place, wrong time," Leigh said, though evidence showed otherwise. In his opening statement, Budway said he and his co-counsel, Jason Harless, saw the case differently. Budway said Spooner killed Flanigan in self-defense when faced with a three-on-one armed ambush. Flanigan was carrying a loaded gun with a laser sight on it, and Spooner had an absolute right to defend himself, Budway said. "To lay all this external blame on Henry is unfair," he said. Spooner "had a right to stand his ground and defend his person. He had no other choice." Leigh and Assistant Prosecutor Matt Kern will continue to present their case at 9 a.m. today. Spooner last year rejected a plea offer that would have seen him sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Other defendants The Willises and the Presidents have already seen their roles in the shooting sorted out in court. Charges of attempted murder and discharging a firearm on or near prohibited premises against Antwon President Jr. were dismissed by the Prosecutor's Office in October 2024. He pleaded guilty to having weapons under disability, tampering with evidence and aggravated assault, all felonies, and then-Judge James Miraldi sentenced him to 4½ years in prison — three of those years being mandatory. Initially charged with felonious assault in Juvenile Court, the younger President brother was found delinquent of carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor, and sentenced to probation, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Demetrius Willis pleaded guilty to failure to comply, improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle, vandalism and obstructing official business, all felonies, and misdemeanor resisting arrest in March, and Bremke also placed him on three years community control, according to court records. Harold Willis pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle and obstructing official business, all felonies, and misdemeanor resisting arrest in March and Bremke sentenced him to three years community control. Subpoenaed to testify by both the prosecution and defense, Harold Willis plans to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if called to testify, attorney Mike Kinlin told Bremke on Tuesday. Kinlin said he was concerned his client might be charged with complicity to Flanigan's killing. Leigh released Harold Willis from her subpoena, but the defense subpoena remains. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.