Henry Spooner gets life with parole eligibility after 26 years in fatal 2022 Midview Crossing shooting

ELYRIA — In front of a courtroom packed with his family and family members of a man he shot and killed nearly three years ago, Henry Spooner learned he will serve at least 26 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. Saying her court is very concerned about gun violence in the community, Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Giovanna Bremke handed down the sentence Monday to Spooner, 23, of Elyria. Jurors heard a week of testimony before finding Spooner guilty of murder, felonious assault and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, all felonies, and three firearms specifications in the Oct. 27, 2022, shooting death of 24-year-old Jordan Flanigan at the Midview Crossing Apartments on Middle Avenue in Elyria. Bremke also found Spooner guilty of having weapons under disability and a repeat violent offender specification. Held in custody on murder charges since Feb. 22, 2023, the law says Spooner will receive credit for all days served in the Lorain County Jail since his arrest — 888 days as of Monday, or approximately 2½ years. The first nine years of the sentence is mandatory because Spooner used a gun in the crimes. Jurors deliberated nearly six hours before rejecting Spooner's argument that he killed Flanigan in self-defense. Spooner fired a single, fatal shot into Flanigan's face from 2 feet away shortly before 8 p.m. Oct. 27, 2022. Flanigan's 15-year-old friend immediately shot Spooner twice before Spooner ran, got into a car and was taken to University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the face and one to the abdomen. Legal arguments Under the law, the burden was on police and prosecutors to prove that Spooner didn't act in self-defense. Spooner testified that's just what he did, even though on the stand he admitted he lied to detectives. Defense attorneys R.J. Budway and Jason Harless said in court they didn't believe the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office proved its case. Spooner "admitted in his testimony that he shot Jordan Flanigan, killed Jordan Flanigan, he apologized at that time for having to kill him, he didn't want to have to do that but he felt it was appropriate for himself to use deadly force to preserve his life," Budway said. From day one, "Mr. Spooner has a firmly held belief that he was acting in self-defense that night. Again he's remorseful for the eventual outcome of the situation and did apologize for that as much as that apology means," Harless said. "He felt like he was faced with a choice of shoot or be shot and killed that night and he acted accordingly." Assistant Prosecutor Matt Kern disagreed, and said the jury made the right decision. Spooner threatened Flanigan online in the weeks leading up to the fatal shooting, telling him he was "finished," Kern said. Flanigan's death also happened only months after Spooner was sentenced to probation for cooperating with police in a different shooting investigation, Kern said. Multiple photos pulled from Spooner's phone show him holding guns. That shows, Kern said, that Spooner is "a violent individual who enjoys running around with guns threatening people and hurting people." Spooner "has not shown genuine remorse for his conduct," Kern said. "Accountability in this case is vital." Spooner apologizes Spooner apologized to Flanigan's family, saying he thinks about the killing all the time even though he still believes he acted in self-defense. "I never intended to really kill nobody that night. I was only protecting myself. Truly in my heart I believe I was protecting myself," he said. He said he prays every night for forgiveness from God. "I gotta live with that decision every day of my life," Spooner said. "I didn't mean to kill nobody, I was protecting myself. I apologize, but I did what I had to do." Spooner said he plans to appeal, and Bremke said she would assign him an attorney to do that. Bremke noted that had Spooner been imprisoned in a prior shooting case and not given an agreement based on his cooperation with authorities, he would have been incarcerated on Oct. 27, 2022, and not free to shoot Flanigan. A separate hearing on alleged probation violations in that case is Aug. 8, Bremke said. "You showed, sir, you are not able to make it in the community on community control," Bremke told Spooner. Three other men got felony convictions for their actions on Oct. 27, 2022. Antwon President, a friend of Flanigan's, got 4½ years in prison for shooting at Spooner as Spooner fled Midview Crossing. Spooner friend Demetrius Willis received probation for fleeing from pursuing Elyria police while his cousin Harold Willis, another Spooner friend, got probation for trying to dispose of the murder weapon. Prosecutors said the juvenile who shot Spooner acted in self-defense. He was found delinquent in Juvenile Court of carrying a concealed weapon, a misdemeanor, and got probation. Jordan Flanigan had 'heart' Jordan Flanigan's parents, Demaris Grant Sr. and Lori Flanigan, spoke fondly of their late son. Grant said the first thing he thinks about when he thinks about his son is his "heart, because he had a lot of it." "For my son to be brandishing a firearm I do believe that his life was threatened. I do believe that that message was sent to him that threatened his life," Grant said. Jordan Flanigan wasn't scared to fight, but "I do take comfort in the fact that I don't think my son could bear the weight of taking another man's life. I do believe that's what happened," Grant said. Most fights have a winner and a loser, but this fight only had two losers, he said. "We lost. We'll never see Jordan alive again," Grant said. Having been in prison before, Grant told Spooner that being behind bars is like being "in a time capsule" with only memories and pictures. "You don't got enough memories to sustain you. Too young. We lost because we lost Jordan. You lose because you locked up in a cage, young brother," Grant said. "I wish you had made a different decision, but because you didn't I'll never see my son again. I hope God, Allah, whoever you believe in, comforts you and helps you find peace, brother. Because where you're going, it's real." Lori Flanigan said her son was also her friend, the "glue" to her family who made everyone laugh and made sure everyone had a good time when they got together. She said she didn't know what animosity came between her son and Spooner, but told Spooner she doesn't think he's evil, and that she hopes he makes something of himself while in prison. "I can see that you can make something of yourself," Lori Flanigan said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.