CHICAGO — Three convicted murderers teamed up with a fourth felon to kidnap, rob, and carjack a couple in the victims’ garage, prosecutors say. The crew allegedly zip-tied both victims and drove them around town until they both threw themselves from the moving vehicle to escape.
One of the men convicted of murder is Robert Brandt, who allegedly hid the gun that was used to kill Chicago Police Officer Michael Ceriale in 1998. We told you about his arrest in the new case earlier this year.
Another convicted murderer charged in the case is 44-year-old Ronald Wembley. He received a 45-year sentence for a Calumet Park slaying in 1998. We introduced you to him after prosecutors charged him in September.
Now, two more men are charged in the case: Jodale Ford, also known as William Finney, and Patrick Armand. Ford received a 58-year prison sentence for a 1995 murder that officials said he participated in as a high-ranking member of the Hobos street gang.
He was on parole for that case when the couple was targeted on August 18, 2024. Prosecutors said the couple had just parked their 2020 Porsche Panamera in their garage in the 2500 block of West 45th Place when vehicles pulled up and blocked them in.
Men, some masked and two armed with guns, emerged from the vehicles and entered the garage. They beat and robbed the couple and then zip-tied their hands, according to court filings. The crew forced the couple into a car and drove away with them.
Prosecutors previously said the female victim escaped by bailing out of the hijacked car while it was in motion. She suffered injuries to most of her right side, shoulder, and buttocks. In more recent paperwork, they said both victims threw themselves from the car.
Prosecutors said video appears to show Armand entering the victim’s garage. His phone’s GPS history put him in the area of the crime when it occurred and near the site where the Porsche was eventually burned, according to the allegations.
Armand, who has not been convicted of murder, was convicted of home invasion in 1998 and is on federal parole for a narcotics case, officials said. Judge Antara Rivera ordered him detained pending trial on charges of armed kidnapping and aggravated vehicular hijacking.
Investigators also used Ford’s phone location history to link him to the crime. Prosecutors said he had a “multitude” of calls and texts with Brandt before, during and after the kidnapping. Video allegedly puts him near the scene, too.
Judge Rivanda Doss Beal detained him on kidnapping and vehicular hijacking charges. The Illinois Department of Corrections took Ford back into custody on Thursday for violating parole in the 1995 murder case. He is incarcerated under the name William Finney.
