A man whose 100-year sentence for his role in the 2014 slaying of 14-year-old Endia Martin was overturned was shot Monday afternoon on the Near North Side, Chicago police said.
Officers were called to the 900 block of North Dearborn Street about 5 p.m. Monday, where Donnell A. Flora, 36, told them he had been shot in his leg by an “unknown offender” in pink shorts, according to a police report obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
In a case that received national attention, Flora was convicted of first-degree murder in January 2016 in Endia’s death and the attempted first-degree murder of her friend, Lanekia Reynolds. The conviction was overturned on appeal in 2020. Prosecutors said Flora, who was paralyzed in a shooting in 2010 and uses a wheelchair, handed a gun to his 14-year-old niece, which she then used to kill Endia.
On Monday, Flora told police he was at Clark and Division streets when an attacker “approached him and demanded he hand over an item,” which he denied having, prompting the attacker to shoot him, the police report said.
Flora allegedly gave conflicting statements to paramedics, according to the report, and said he was shot while fighting back during a robbery.
He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left leg, according to the report. He was listed in good condition.
Police could not find a crime scene or any shell casings because Flora could not give the exact location where he had been shot, the report alleged.
Flora’s brother was the father of the 14-year-old girl who committed the 2014 shooting, identified as Destiny P. Destiny’s father had been killed in a shooting in 2001, and another girl was threatening to kill her. Lanekia was grazed in her arm by Destiny, and Endia was killed, court records show.
Family and friends of Endia Martin sign posters in memory of 14-year-old Edina Martin who was gunned down by a friend over a Facebook dispute concerning a boy during a vigil in 900 block of West Garfield Boulevard in the Back of the Yards neighborhood Wednesday, April 30, 2014.
Jessica Koscielniak / Sun-Times
Flora testified that he at first said no when Destiny asked to borrow a gun, but went with her to confront her and brought his gun.
He gave the gun to his niece after they took the bus to the 5600 block of South Halsted Street, where they were met by a large group of high school kids, court records show.
Flora couldn’t cross Garfield Boulevard in his wheelchair, and told Destiny to give the gun to his cousin, Vandetta Redwood. Redwood, who initially faced charges in the attack, was acquitted of gun charges in federal court in 2017.
After the shooting, Destiny ran back to him, placed the gun wrapped in a jacket into his lap and started to push him in his wheelchair, but was quickly taken into custody, court records show.
Testimony showed that before the shooting, Redwood had given the gun back to Destiny with the instructions, “Shoot that bitch.”
The court sentenced Flora to 65 years for the first-degree murder of Endia and 35 years for the attempted first-degree murder of Lanekia, to be served consecutively.
Destiny, whose case was handled in juvenile court, pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder in January, 2018 and was given the maximum juvenile sentence.
Flora sought to have his conviction overturned on three grounds: the prosecutor’s closing argument led the jury to a misunderstanding, the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he and Destiny shared a common criminal design, and the trial court erred by preventing defense counsel from cross-examining a jailhouse witness, court records show.
The appellate court reversed his convictions for first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder and remanded the case for a new trial.
On March 29, 2021, Flora pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with credit for serving 2,527 days behind bars. He was paroled on Aug. 24, 2023. He eventually served nearly 10 years.