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Background: The 800 block of East Virginia Avenue in Peoria, Illinois (Google Maps) Inset: Deandre Ward (Peoria County Sheriff”s Office)
The case of a woman being shot by her ex-boyfriend in the back and paralyzed from the waist down has concluded, at least for now, with the culprit being sentenced to decades behind bars.
Deandre Ward, 24, pleaded guilty to aggravated battery on April 17. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office announced.
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The charge stemmed from a July 2024 fight, when Ward’s then-22-year-old ex-girlfriend, armed with a knife, was in a fight with another woman in the 800 block of East Virginia Avenue in Peoria, according to authorities. After the fight ended, as the victim was running away, Ward shot her in the back, “leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.”
The couple had just recently broken up, according to Peoria-based NBC, ABC, MyNetworkTV, and The CW Plus affiliate WEEK.
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 restroom, 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 hospitalized multiple times over the past year,” prosecutors added.
“I’ll never be the same,” WEEK quoted the victim saying at the emotional hearing.
“I’m sorry for the pain the last 11 months,” Ward is said to have admitted in court.
The bullet Ward fired went through the woman’s kidney and struck her spine, according to court records obtained by local CBS affiliate WMBD, t
Ward was given credit for 351 days of time served; he has been ordered to serve at least 85% of his sentence.
Authorities said he took full responsibility for the crime and asked not to be judged solely on the one incident. But the judge rebuked him, saying the victim will always be defined by what he did.
