Detective testifies that defendant lied to Elyria police investigating 2022 Midview Crossing killing

ELYRIA — Confined to a hospital bed at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland in November 2022 and unable to speak due to his injuries, Henry Spooner lied to Elyria police detectives investigating his killing of another man at a Middle Avenue apartment complex 11 days earlier, one of those two detectives testified Wednesday. Spooner, 23, is charged in Lorain County Common Pleas Court with murder, felonious assault, having weapons under disability, tampering with evidence and improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle in the death of Jordan Flanigan, 24. Judge Giovanna Bremke is hearing the case. Flanigan was shot outside Building H at the Midview Crossing Apartments, 1864 Middle Ave., the night of Oct. 27, 2022. His death was a homicide caused by a single gunshot wound above his left eye that was fired from less than 2 feet away, Lorain County Coroner Dr. Frank Miller testified. Prosecutors allege Spooner executed Flanigan. Spooner's defense is that he shot and killed Flanigan in self-defense during an ambush. The whole incident was caught on motion-activated security cameras, jurors learned Wednesday. Seeing Flanigan killed, two of his friends returned fire with Flanigan's gun and another weapon. Spooner was hit twice including once each in the head and abdomen and driven to University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center before being taken to MetroHealth. Eleven days later he was in a hospital bed, being read his Miranda rights and willingly answering questions from detectives Zach Kasperovich and James Wise without an attorney. Most of Spooner's answers were lies based on evidence police already had, Wise testified Wednesday. Unable to speak with his jaw wired shut and a tracheostomy tube in his windpipe, Spooner wrote his answers on a piece of paper, according to a recording of the interview played in court by Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Matt Kern. Spooner seemed awake, alert, oriented and able to answer detectives' questions, Wise testified. The jury, including 11 women and three men, watched Kern and Wise review Spooner's written statement line-by-line. A veteran detective with "probably a hundred" shooting investigations under his belt, Wise testified that Spooner lied when he claimed he didn't know who Flanigan was. Wise said Spooner lied about being an innocent bystander to the shooting when he could be seen, on video, shooting Flanigan. "I was jus caught in the crossfire wrong place wrong time," Spooner wrote during the interview. Spooner lied when he said he wasn't carrying a gun that night, Wise testified, again pointing to surveillance video. "I never pulled a gun on nobody WTF I was drinkin' w(ith) sum females," Spooner wrote. Spooner further lied about knowing who was shooting that night, according to detectives. "I was drunk IDK," Spooner wrote, despite being one of three men police could prove pulled a trigger. He didn't know at the time Elyria police already had video evidence and didn't believe them when the detectives showed him, Wise said. The detectives at one point described exactly what Spooner did that night and how it was caught on video. He kept denying it. "I never pulled a gun on no one," Spooner wrote. He added that instead, he was hanging out with "some girls I was finna leave get some (sex) and then that (the shooting) happened." Just caught in the crossfire, the detectives asked him? "Exactly only thing that was on my mind is which one of these hos I'm f---in'," he wrote. Hearing the shots, Spooner wrote that he "took off running" and "honestly can't even remember who brought me to the hospital, it happened so fast." Wise testified he refused to show Spooner the video, but Kasperovich showed Spooner low-quality screenshots of Spooner from the video. "I told you, man. We're not playing games here," Kasperovich told Spooner. "We're not here to trick you at all," Wise told Spooner. "We're here to get your opinion on it, that's all." Spooner was honest when he said he was driving around that day "just drinkin', normal youngin stuff." That was backed up by video evidence Leigh mentioned in her opening statement. On cross-examination by defense attorney R.J. Budway, he admitted he didn't know if Spooner was on painkillers or other medication at the time of the interview. As far as Flanigan's killing goes, "I do not believe it's self-defense" Wise testified. Four other men were charged with crimes related to the shooting. Harold Willis, now 22, tossed Spooner's handgun out of a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo while fleeing Elyria police, a Jeep that his cousin Demetrius Willis, now 23, crashed near Elyria High School. The two men pleaded guilty to felony charges in March and Bremke placed them on community control for three years. Through his attorney, Harold Willis said he will invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent if called to testify in Spooner's trial. Antwon President Jr., now 25, is serving 4½ years in prison after pleading guilty last year to having weapons under disability, tampering with evidence and aggravated assault, all felonies. His expected release date is in February 2029, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. President's younger half brother, who was 15 at the time, shot Spooner in the head and nearly killed him after Flanigan's killing. Prosecutors said the teen acted in self-defense and he was only found delinquent of a misdemeanor in Lorain County Juvenile Court. His mother, Courtney Hollis, testified Wednesday that the teen was "subpoenaed (to testify) but not served." She said she knew how to get in touch with him but not where he is currently living. Testimony resumes this morning. Reporter Carissa Woytach contributed to this story. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.