Chicago man convicted of plotting to kill 2 potential witnesses in cousin's murder trial: pros.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago man has been convicted on federal murder-for-hire charges for plotting to kill two potential witnesses in his cousin's murder trial, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Illinois said on Friday.

Prosecutors said 41-year-old Christopher Yates recruited two people in summer 2024 to kill the individuals he believed would testify against his cousin, who was set to go to trial in Cook County for allegedly shooting a woman to death in 2020.

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Yates gave his recruits a handgun and ammunition and told them, "I want them both off the board. Both of them got to [expletive] go," prosecutors said. Prosecutors said Yates also gave the recruits $250 in cash and said he could offer more money later as payment for the killings.

"Whatever you charge, I'm working on that," Yates told them, according to prosecutors.

Yates was arrested on July 31, 2024, before the killings could be carried out. He has remained detained in federal custody since then.

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.