Man sentenced to 35 years for 2019 Rockford murder at Great Oaks apartments

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Javari Conley has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for killing Jamie Gonzalez in the parking lot of the Great Oaks apartment complex in 2019.

On March 8th, 2019, investigators say Conley, 30, shot and killed Gonzales while he sat in a Kia Soul parked at the apartment complex, located at 4801 Linden Road.

Gonzalez was found suffering from gunshot wounds to the head and lower left side.

Winnebago County Sheriff’s Detectives say they identified Conley as the suspect in a two-month investigation into the incident.

Shell casings found at the scene matched those recovered from a separate shooting incident Conley was implicated, prosecutors said.

During an interview with police, Conley said he had “discharged a firearm at an individual with whom he had ongoing disputes and acknowledged that at least one of the shots struck a parked, occupied red vehicle.”

Conley was charged with First Degree Murder and Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm.

Conley was already held in the Winnebago County Jail for allegedly carjacking a man in the parking lot of Peak Fitness, at 4304 East State Street, in April, and then leading police in pursuit.

In the intervening years, Conley refused to appear at various court hearings, and the case was set to be decided by a bench trial. However, a judge ordered that he be re-evaluated for mental fitness.

On September 29th, 2025, he pleaded guilty to the charge of murder.