Gary man's murder sentence revised after he fires lawyers

Lake Superior Judge Natalie Bokota on Friday rescheduled the pending murder sentence for a Gary man after firing both attorneys earlier in the week.

A jury convicted 46-year-old Drew Carter in June in the death of 36-year-old Jessica “Heaven” Flores of Chicago Heights, Illinois, on February 24 or 25, 2019.

Carter was found guilty of murder, kidnapping while in possession of a deadly weapon (a Level 3 felony), false imprisonment while in possession of a deadly weapon (a Level 3 felony), and false imprisonment with assault (a Level 5 felony).

He was also convicted of weapons enhancement after a brief trial before a single judge. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. A new hearing is scheduled for August 30 to appoint his lawyer and set a new date for sentencing.

Court documents say defense attorneys Mark Gruenhagen and David O'Donnell requested to withdraw from the case midweek after it became clear Carter would fire them both.

A sentencing hearing was postponed last month when Gruenhagen temporarily resigned over concerns Carter would fire him.

“The only reason I am being convicted of a crime I did not commit is because my attorney … did not listen to me at all and instead of working for me, he worked against me in his own interest,” the attorney wrote, Carter said in the report.

The case's main witness testified that she and Flores had been partying all night and smoking crack when she and Carter left a drug house in Gary. During an argument, he allegedly turned around and shot Flores in the car.

The car was later found ablaze, with a pool of blood in the back seat. Flores' body was not found until over a year later, when her skull and vertebrae were discovered in Gary's Brunswick Park in April 2020.

Assistant District Attorney Eric Randall is appointed.

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Originally published: August 16, 2024 at 16:44