Chicago Man Charged in Federal Court With Plotting To Kill Two Witnesses in Cousin’s Murder Trial

CHICAGO — 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 Wednesday 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.

Last month, 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 allege.  “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.

The indictment was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Sean Fitzgerald, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of Homeland Security Investigations.  Substantial assistance was provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirsten Moran. 

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The unlawful transfer charge is punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison, while each murder-for-hire count is punishable by up to ten years.