Man convicted in 2014 homicide | News
A Baltimore man faces a mandatory life prison sentence after being convicted Wednesday for taking part in the robbery and slaying of a Blairsville man three years ago. A jury convicted Deandre Jones Jr ., 32, of second-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to robbery following two days of testimony in Indiana County Common Pleas Court . Jones was one of four suspects accused of planning to rob and kill Tyron Howard , 37, in his apartment at 122 S. Stewart St. Two of Jones’ co- defendants reached plea agreements with the district attorney ’s office and a third was convicted following a trial in June. State police charged that the group traveled from Altoona to Blairsville on the night of Sept. 29, 2014, and the purported leader of the plot, Michael Eades, told the others he intended to collect money Howard owed him from drug trafficking. Witnesses portrayed Howard and Eades as best friends for years. Howard was the best man at Eades’ wedding, and Eades named one of his children ...