Charges dropped against fourth defendant in 2011 Arlington Heights murder
Editors note: This article reflects a correction as to Armon Braden's plea. He pleaded guilty to murder in November.
Cook County prosecutors on Monday dismissed charges against the fourth defendant in the 2011 murder of George Nellessen, a 55-year-old widowed father of two killed in his Arlington Heights home.
Authorities say Azari Braden, 23, drove his brother Armon Braden, 24, of Chicago and another co-defendant, Marlon Green, 24, also of Chicago, to Nellessen's Wilshire Lane home in exchange for gas money and a pair of diamond earrings. But prosecutors say the former Southern Illinois University student never entered the residence.
Monday's action concludes prosecution in the case that saw Armon Braden and Green convicted of armed robbery and Nellessen's son, Matthew, convicted of murder and serving a life sentence.
Prosecutors say Azari Braden dropped off his brother and Green near the Nellessen home, where they met Matthew Nellessen. Matthew had enlisted Green - whom he met during a stint at Cook County jail - in a plan to rob his father of Social Security benefits from his deceased mother, which the younger Nellessen believed was owed him, according to testimony in Matthew Nellessen's trial.
Green, in turn, sought help from Armon Braden, who prosecutors say supplied the pellet gun used to intimidate George Nellessen into supplying financial information and signing a check for $100,000.
Prosecutors say greed and anger motivated Matthew Nellessen, 23, who became enraged during the robbery and beat his father in the head with a baseball bat while the victim was bound to a chair, gagged and blindfolded. Matthew Nellessen then stabbed his father in the neck several times with a kitchen knife.
After jurors found Matthew Nellessen responsible for the murder, Judge Martin Agran sentenced him to life in prison.
Armon Braden pleaded guilty to murder in November as part of a negotiated plea. He is expected to be sentenced Jan. 30 to 22 years in prison. Green, who testified against Nellessen, also pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced to 22 years in prison in November.