A Chicago man has been indicted on federal murder-for-hire charges for allegedly plotting to kill two potential witnesses in his cousin’s upcoming murder trial.
An indictment returned recently in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges Christopher Yates, 39, with two counts of murder-for-hire and one count of unlawful transfer of a firearm and ammunition.
According to the indictment and a criminal complaint previously filed in the case, Yates sought the killings of two individuals he believed would testify against his cousin in a state murder trial. Yates’s cousin is currently detained in state custody on murder and attempted murder charges for allegedly shooting two individuals, one fatally, in 2020.
The trial was set to begin this fall.
Yates allegedly recruited a man to carry out the killings and provided him with a handgun and ammunition. Yates allegedly told the man, “I want them both off the board. Both of them got to [expletive] go.” Yates provided the man with $250 in cash and said he could offer more money later as payment for the killings, the charges alleged.
“Whatever you charge, I’m working on that,” Yates allegedly said.
Yates was arrested on July 31, 2024, and he remains detained in federal custody without bond. He pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment Thursday in federal court in Chicago.
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