The case of a woman who was shot in the back by her ex-boyfriend and left paralysed from the waist down has been resolved, at least for the time being, with the perpetrator sentenced to decades in prison.
Deandre Ward, 24, pleaded guilty to aggravated battery on April 17. He received a 20-year sentence from the Illinois Department of Corrections on Wednesday, according to the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office.
According to authorities, the charge stemmed from a July 2024 fight in which Ward’s then-22-year-old ex-girlfriend was armed with a knife and fought another woman in the 800 block of East Virginia Avenue in Peoria.
Ward shot the victim in the back as she ran away after the fight, “leaving her paralysed from the waist down.”
According to WEEK, an NBC, ABC, MyNetworkTV, and The CW Plus affiliate in Peoria, the couple recently ended their relationship.
During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, the unnamed victim described how the shooting has affected her life, saying she “can no longer perform daily basic tasks, such as bathing or using the lavatory, without assistance,” according to the state’s attorney’s office.
“She relies on care from a friend, is in pain constantly, requires daily medication, and has been hospitalised multiple times over the past year,” according to prosecutors.
“I’ll never be the same,” WEEK quoted the victim as saying during the emotional hearing.
“I’m sorry for the pain over the last 11 months,” Ward is said to have admitted in court.
According to court records obtained by local CBS affiliate WMBD, Ward fired a bullet that entered the woman’s kidney and struck her spine.
Ward was given credit for 351 days served and has been ordered to serve at least 85% of his sentence.
Authorities stated that he accepted full responsibility for the crime and asked not to be judged based solely on one incident. However, the judge rebuked him, stating that the victim will always be defined by what he did.
