'America's Most Wanted' man goes on trial after 13 years

May 17, 2007
By Kim Janssen Staff writer
More than 13 years after he allegedly killed a good Samaritan in front of his young family in Dixmoor -- and six years after he appeared on "America's Most Wanted" -- Eduardo Flores finally faced justice Wednesday as his murder trial began.

Flores, now 37, was on the run for more than a decade after the death of 31-year-old Harvey man Ricky McDaniel on April 9, 1994.

An Oldsmobile Cutlass driven by Flores repeatedly rammed McDaniel off Western Avenue near 140th Street as he drove with his fiancee and step-daughter, before a passenger in Flores' car fatally shot McDaniel six times, prosecutors say.

McDaniel and his family had been driving to get hot dogs when he was gunned down.

Flores admits driving the vehicle but denies knowing his passenger, Jacer Medina -- who is still at large -- planned to shoot McDaniel.

But both he and Medina had a vendetta against McDaniel after he reported Flores for an earlier drunken driving incident at a Harvey trailer park, then detained Flores until police arrived, Assistant State's Attorney Desiree Berg said.

Michael Giles said he saw Flores ram McDaniel's car onto the sidewalk before Medina "showed me his gun through the windscreen and smiled."

Medina shouted, "I'm going to kill you, (expletive deleted)!" and fired six shots as McDaniel tried to shield his fiancee and stepdaughter, Giles said.

McDaniel's fiancee, Dawn Gersom, whom he was to marry just a week after he died, sobbed as she also identified Flores as the driver in court Wednesday.

After shooting McDaniel, Medina "pointed the gun between my eyes and pulled the trigger," she said, but the gun was out of ammunition.

Flores was arrested by the FBI in 2004 in Los Angeles after applying for U.S. citizenship under an alias, Berg said.

Fingerprints used in the application alerted the authorities, she said.

Public defender Kendall Hill, representing Flores, said Flores was not aware he had appeared on "America's Most Wanted" and had not known he was being sought by police until his arrest.

He fled the scene "because he is an illegal immigrant and was afraid of being deported or being hurt by Medina," Gill said.
The case is set to continue today.

Kim Janssen may be reached at
kjanssen@dailysouthtown.com
or (70 633-5998.


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