Murder charges have been filed against a man who was tracked down on Chicago’s North Side less than an hour after police say he shot and killed his ex-girlfriend at a Mariano’s in Evergreen Park where she worked.
Armoni Henry, 44, is accused of entering the store shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday and shooting Jailene Flores, 21, inside a storage room, according to Evergreen Park Police Chief Michael Saunders.
A license plate reader picked up Henry’s red Ford Focus in the 1000 block of West Hollywood Avenue in the Edgewater neighborhood after authorities flashed a message that it was wanted in the death of Flores, according to a police report.
Henry pulled over in the 1300 block of West Thorndale Avenue but hit the front bumper of an unmarked police car, according to a police report. He was arrested, and police found a loaded 9mm gun in his right pants pocket, the report said.
Saunders said Henry had previously confronted Flores.
“This victim was a previous employee at the Amazon store in Oak Lawn and had left there,” Saunders said. “Had an incident over there with this individual, the suspect, and left that store and began employment over here.”
During a court hearing, prosecutors said Flores had sought a restraining order against Henry earlier this year.
Henry had been arrested last year in Evergreen Park when he was found with a loaded gun in his car but had no firearm owners identification card, according to court records. He was charged with unlawful possession of a gun and resisting arrest after he refused to be handcuffed by officers.
The charges were dropped months later.
Surveillance video in the Mariano’s shows Flores walking away from her boyfriend, according to Evergreen Park Police Chief Michael Saunders. She was then shot multiple times around 9:15 a.m. and found dead inside a storage room, Saunders said.
Henry was scheduled to appear Friday at the Bridgeview Courthouse for a bond hearing on the murder charges.