Jurors quickly convicted a Chicago mother of first-degree murder for helping her son and his girlfriend kill another man, hide his corpse and burglarize his home, WGN News reports.
On Friday, the DuPage County state attorney’s office announced that it took a jury about 90 minutes to reach a verdict in the case against 43-year-old Candice Jones.
Prosecutors alleged that Jones had plotted with her son, 27-year-old Ernest Collins, and his girlfriend, 26-year-old Cassandra Green, to rob the victim by gunpoint.
Police say that on January 14, 2018, Green sent the victim, Naperville resident Michael Armendariz, a Snapchat message and later picked him up from an apartment complex, according to Fox 32.
Unknown to Armendariz, Collins hid under a blanket in the back of the Ford Explorer. As Green and Armendariz were traveling, Collins shot Armendariz twice in the head, killing him.
Collins and Green dumped Armendariz’s body in a garbage can and placed that can in Jones’ Chicago garage.
The garbage bin was later moved to the garage of a nearby vacant residence; Armendariz’s body was located in a recycling container months later, the Daily Herald reports.
After killing Armendariz, Collins and Green took his keys and burglarized his home.
“This evening, a jury found Candice Jones, the last of three defendants charged in the murder of Michael Armendariz, guilty of first-degree murder,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in press release.
“Guilty verdicts, however, cannot bring Michael back to those who loved him. The diabolical plot devised by Candice Jones, Ernest Collins, and Cassandra Green, and the execution of that plot, left a void in the lives of Michael’s surviving family and friends that will never be filled. I wish them strength as they continue their lives, having replaced Michael’s presence with just his memory.”
Jones, who also was convicted of armed robbery, could be sentenced up to 75 years in prison. She is scheduled to return to court December 18.
Collins faces life in prison and has a court date of November 29. Green took a plea deal and was sentenced to 21 years in prison; she is expected back in court November 13.
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[Feature Photo: Candice Jones/DuPage County State’s Attorney]
