'I was scared' — Henry Spooner testifies he shot Jordan Flanigan in self-defense in 2022

ELYRIA — Henry Spooner took the stand Monday in Lorain County Common Pleas and told a jury that he shot and killed Jordan Flanigan in self-defense on Oct. 27, 2022. "I was scared," Spooner, 23, of Elyria testified when asked why he shot Flanigan, 24, one time in the face that night, killing him instantly. "I was shot, scared, in shock. I thought I was gonna die." The two armed men had briefly taken up the same patch of sidewalk outside Building H at the Midview Crossing Apartments that night when Spooner fired the fatal shot. So why lie about the shooting to Elyria police detectives during an interview at MetroHealth Medical Center where he was recovering from two gunshot wounds he suffered that night, defense attorney R.J. Budway asked Spooner. "I just wanted to go home," Spooner said. "I honestly didn't want to go to jail." Jurors will decide if Spooner is guilty of murder, felonious assault, tampering with evidence, improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle and related firearms specifications, while Judge Giovanna Bremke considers a weapons charge resulting from Spooner's convicted felon status as well as a repeat violent offender specification that could add years to any prison term he serves. After getting the case Monday afternoon, the 12-person jury deliberated for approximately 2 ½ hours without reaching a decision. Deliberations resume today. Spooner said he never threatened anyone despite what the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office and Elyria police alleged. A threatening Facebook message he sent Flanigan almost three weeks before the shooting was "a misunderstanding" and not a death threat, Spooner testified. As Spooner shot Flanigan, Flanigan's 15-year-old friend pulled a gun and shot Spooner in the jaw and abdomen, sending him to the hospital for life-saving medical treatment. The teen was later found to have acted in self-defense and found delinquent of a misdemeanor weapons charge. The teen's half-brother, Antwon President Jr., picked up Flanigan's gun and fired at Spooner as he retreated but missed. President is serving a 4 1/2 year prison for having weapons under disability, tampering with evidence and aggravated assault, all felonies, for shooting at Spooner. "Yes I am" remorseful, Spooner testified when asked if he felt bad about killing Flanigan. He also testified he never threatened anyone and only shot because he thought Flanigan and the 15-year-old were going to kill him. During cross-examination, Assistant Prosecutor Matt Kern grilled Spooner about why he went to Midview Crossing, a place Spooner testified was "a dangerous spot," armed with a gun if he was so scared for his life that night. Spooner testified he went there to try and meet up a girl he liked, not to kill Flanigan because one of his friends and Flanigan were in conflict over a woman. The threatening Facebook message, Spooner said, was a threat of a beating not a shooting. Telling Flanigan "y(o)u finished" in that message was not a death threat, he said. Spooner also testified Flanigan pointed the laser light of his weapon at Spooner as the men left Building H, the laser beam flashing over Spooner's face as the 15-year-old made movements like he might go for a gun. That's also when Flanigan fast-walked the 30 feet up to Spooner in a matter of seconds and according to Spooner said: "(Expletive) I'm gonna' pop yo' bitch ass." That's when Spooner pulled his gun and fired in self-defense, he testified. He said he did not "execute" Flanigan with a shot to the face from 2 feet away, the gun firing so close to Flanigan's face that unburned gunpowder embedded itself in his skin. Spooner also denied that notes found in his phone were rap lyrics about killing his "opps" or opponents, and carrying a "blick," a "pole" or a "strap" — all slang terms for guns — were directed at Flanigan. "Those lyrics were not directed towards him," Spooner testified. "That's just a song I made. Those are just lyrics. They're not directed toward anybody. That's just a rap song." Spooner also admitted he lied to his ex-girlfriend in a recorded phone call from the Lorain County Jail when he told her Flanigan shot first. Bremke also rejected Kern's attempt to introduce evidence of Spooner's criminal record. Kern called it "misleading" not to be able to tell jurors about Spooner's priors. Budway called it "highly prejudicial" to do so. With the jury out of the courtroom, Kern said Spooner was the getaway driver in a prior shooting and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in that case. The defense didn't deny Spooner lied about being when he told police he was caught in a crossfire between other shooters. "We get he was not forthcoming with detectives," defense attorney Jason Harless, Budway's co-counsel, said in court. Bremke sided with the defense, which rested its case following Spooner's testimony. She also denied a defense motion to dismiss all the charges. In his closing arguments, Kern said Spooner made "a calculated decision to cause death" when he brought a gun with him to Midview Crossing. Flanigan, he said, never raised his gun to shoot at Spooner. Spooner shot Flanigan nearly straight on in the face after taunting him online and in made-up rap lyrics for weeks, Kern said. Spooner "lied to the cops because he knew what he did was wrong," Kern told the jury, calling Spooner "the executioner" that night. Harless saw it differently. Security video from Midview Crossing showed Spooner was set up by Flanigan and his friends, caught in a "crossfire ambush" Dangerous spots, "that's his whole world" Harless said of his client's life, calling the violent rap lyrics "a red herring" and saying there was no evidence Flanigan ever heard or saw them. The lyrics may be "unsettling," he said, "but it doesn't mean (Spooner) meant to kill anyone ... This is a common sense self-defense case." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com