A 21-year-old Illinois man is accused of killing his girlfriend at her workplace after confronting her for apparently removing a tracking device he had allegedly secretly placed in her car.
Armoni Henry has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 21-year-old Jailene Flores, authorities said. It’s unclear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney to comment on his behalf.
On July 13, local police responded to a report of an active shooter at the Mariano’s grocery store on West 95th Street in Evergreen Park. When they arrived, officers found a woman — later identified as Flores — who had been shot multiple times. Flores, who also worked at the grocery store, was pronounced dead at the scene.
An investigation identified Henry as the suspected shooter and he was taken into custody shortly after the shooting, police said.
According to court documents obtained, the pair began dating after they had met in school and previously worked together at a nursing home in Oak Lawn. However, this past April, Flores had filed for a protection of abuse order against Henry for allegedly threatening her and her family. The outlet reports that the order was granted but was never served and eventually expired.
On July 10, Flores had apparently discovered an AirTag inside her car. After her brother investigated the Apple tracking device, he reportedly learned that the last four digits of the AirTag’s phone number matched Henry’s phone number.
Two days later, Henry allegedly confronted Flores at work about removing the tracking device, and allegedly threatened to hurt her family if she broke contact with him. Flores later filed another protection of abuse order.
According to court documents, Flores arrived at work on Thursday to find 124 text messages from Henry allegedly threatening to murder her. The documents state that around 9 a.m. Henry was allegedly captured on surveillance video entering the grocery store. Prosecutors claimed he approached her inside the store and the pair went into an employees-only room before shots were fired.
A manager reportedly saw Henry fleeing the scene and identified him to police as the suspected shooter, according to the court documents. Henry allegedly fled the scene in a Ford Focus, which was quickly tracked down through license plate readers.
At around 10 a.m., Henry was taken into custody. Authorities reportedly recovered a loaded gun from Henry at the time of his arrest.
Henry has a history of domestic violence and was convicted of battery in Peoria County.
Mariano’s said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened” by the incident that happened at its Evergreen Park location.
“The entire Mariano’s family offers our thoughts, prayers, and support to all affected individuals and families during this difficult time and we have initiated counseling services for our associates,” reads the statement, per the outlet. “We are cooperating with local law enforcement, and the store will remain closed while the police investigation continues.”
Following the violence, Flores’ sister, Ashley Flores, created a GoFundMe campaign to help offset funeral expenses.
“Unfortunately my sister was a victim of harassment and stalking from an individual who wasn’t even her boyfriend, it was a “friend” who became obsessive,” the woman’s sister claimed on the fundraising site.
“This turned fatal and on July 13th at 9am he ended my sister’s life on what we thought would be another normal Thursday,” she continues. “I sit here still waiting for her to come home. Unfortunately my family and I must accept that Jailene is no longer with us and is in heaven watching above us all.”
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