CHICAGO (WLS) — In a significant legal development, a Chicago man has been found guilty of federal murder-for-hire charges. The charges stem from a plot targeting two would-be witnesses in his cousin’s impending murder trial, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois on Friday.
The prosecution detailed that 41-year-old Christopher Yates enlisted two individuals during the summer of 2024 with the intent of silencing those he suspected would testify against his cousin. His cousin was scheduled to stand trial in Cook County, accused of a fatal shooting occurring in 2020.
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Yates allegedly armed his accomplices with a pistol and ammunition, instructing them to eliminate the witnesses. “I want them both off the board. Both of them got to
Yates' plan was thwarted when he was apprehended on July 31, 2024, prior to any attempt on the witnesses' lives. Since his arrest, he has remained in federal custody, marking the end of his deadly plot.
After a week-long trial in Chicago, a jury convicted Yates on June 29 of two counts of murder-for-hire and one count of unlawful transfer of a firearm and ammunition.
Yates is set to be sentenced on Oct. 28. He faces up to 15 years in prison for the unlawful transfer charge and up to 10 years in prison for each murder-for-hire count.
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