Lake County Inmate Nabbed in Murder-for-Hire Scheme

An inmate being held at the Lake County Jail now faces new charges after he allegedly tried to hire someone to kill a witness in a pending sex assault case, authorities said Friday.

Jonathan Velazquez, 34, of the 0 to 100 block of Sandhurst Road in Mundelein, has been charged with solicitation of murder for hire and solicitation for murder, which are both class X felonies.

Velazquez was being held at the Lake County Jail on a $350,000 bond on charges of criminal sexual assault when authorities learned on June 21 that was trying to hire someone to kill the witness, according to a Lake County Sheriff’s Office press release. The sex assault charges stem from a crime that happened in Mundelein.

During an investigation into the allegations, “Velazquez continued to make steps forward attempting to hire a ‘hitman,’” according to the news release.

He made formal arrangement to pay over $1,000 in cash to an individual he believed was going to murder the witness, police said. That “hitman” was actually an informant working with detectives, according to the news release.

A Lake County judge on Friday set his bail at $1 million in the murder for hire case. Velazquez is next expected in court on July 9.

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