Woman who lured man to fatal robbery pleads guilty to gun charge, gets 23 years in prison
A woman accused of luring a man to an armed robbery where he was killed was sentenced to 23 years in prison Wednesday.
Yecenia Granados, 35, of Aurora, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated battery with a weapon. It was part of an agreement for her testimony in May against her co-defendant, Michael E. James of Aurora, who fired the gun. Charges of first-degree murder were dropped.
According to Kane County prosecutor Dave Belshan, Granados met the victim, 37-year-old Edward Williams Jr., around midnight on Dec. 18, 2021, at the Black Door Pub in Aurora. The two agreed to go to his apartment.
Williams went to his apartment. But Granados first met up with James before going to the apartment.
When Granados was ready to leave the apartment, Williams walked her to the door. She pretended she had left her keys on a table and went back into the apartment. Williams was holding the door open when James came in, Belshan said.
The two men struggled, and James shot Williams in the head.
A jury convicted James, 41, of first-degree murder on May 20. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9.
Several of Williams’ sisters cried as they gave victim impact statements on Wednesday.
Deyondra Stanciel, his older sister, said she had heard Granados say during James’ trial that she didn’t want to do the robbery and killing “because it wasn’t the type of person you are.”
“You aren’t,” a sobbing Stanciel said. “You are worse than that. You’re a monster.”
Kane County Judge David Kliment accepted the sentence because it was part of getting Granados to testify.
“Otherwise, I would never take an amount this low in your case,” he told Granados.
Granados must serve at least 19 years of her sentence before being eligible for parole. She received credit for the more than three years she has spent in the Kane County jail awaiting trial.