A Chicago woman has been declared guilty for her part in the brutal execution-style murder of a man from Naperville in 2018. It took a jury about 90 minutes to make the verdict against 43-year-old Candice Jones.
On January 18, 2018, Naperville police responded to Whispering Hills Drive because a man had gone missing. This man was identified as 20-year-old Michael Armendariz, who had last been seen around 9:30 p.m. on January 14.
Prosecutors claim that Armendariz received a Snapchat message from one of Jones' co-defendants, 26-year-old Cassanda Green of Rockford, around 9:11 p.m. on January 14. After getting this message, it's alleged that Armendariz left his apartment and hopped into a vehicle driven by Green. Prosecutors say that five minutes later, 27-year-old Ernest Collins emerged from hiding in the back of the vehicle and shot Armendariz twice in the back of the head.
Collins and Green then transported Armendariz's body to Chicago, where they stuffed it into a garbage can and placed the bin in Collins' mother's garage. Collins' mother happens to be Jones. At some point, the garbage can was relocated to the garage of an empty home next to Jones' residence.
According to prosecutors, Collins and Green also took Armendariz's apartment keys and robbed his home the day after the murder. Armendariz's body was discovered in the vacant garage several months later.
A month after the murder, all three suspects were arrested.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin stated, "This evening, a jury found Candice Jones, the last of three defendants charged in the murder of Michael Armendariz, guilty of first-degree murder. 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 is scheduled to appear in court on December 18 and faces up to 75 years in prison. Collins is set to return to court on November 29 and faces a potential life sentence. Green's court appearance is slated for November 13.
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