NAPERVILLE, Ill. (TCN) — A judge sentenced a 44-year-old woman and her 28-year-old son to prison for their roles in the kidnapping and execution-style murder of a 20-year-old man who went missing in 2018.
The DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office announced Nov. 14 that Ernest Collins was sentenced to 70 years for first-degree murder and 28 for armed robbery, while Candice Jones received 40 years for murder and 21 years for armed robbery in connection with the death of Michael Armendariz. A jury convicted Collins in September 2023, while Jones was found guilty in October 2023. Collins’ girlfriend, Cassandra Green, pleaded guilty in 2022 to armed robbery with a firearm.
According to the state’s attorney, Naperville Police received a call on Jan. 18, 2018, about Armendariz and how he had not been seen since Jan. 14, 2018. Investigators concluded Green sent Armendariz a Snapchat message on Jan. 14, and minutes later, he left his apartment and got into Green’s SUV. She reportedly drove them away from the building, and minutes later, Collins “emerged from hiding in the back” of the SUV and shot Armendariz in the back of the head. They reportedly drove to Jones’ home in Chicago, placed Armendariz’s body in a trash can, and left it in Jones’ garage. The garbage can, however, got transferred to a vacant home next to Jones.