Murdering Gangster Gets Light Sentence Under Plea

JOLIET, IL - When Christopher Stamps was a Joliet teenager, he was not focused on his academic studies or pursuing a chosen career path. He was a hard-core gangster. At 16, Stamps packed a loaded gun to chase after his Will County gang rivals, ones who made him mad on places like Facebook.

In October 2014, Latray Wright, who was another gangster, was outside on a fall afternoon with a 17-year-old friend near Princeton and Fairmont in Lockport Township. A blue car showed up. Stamps was in that car. He clutched his gun and fired away. His intended target, Wright, tried to run, but he was struck by the bullets. Wright fell to the ground. He died. He was 16, just like his killer, Stamps.

The Will County Sheriff's Department solved the drive-by quickly with some big help from the Joliet Police Department. Two days after the killing, Stamps was taken into custody. Since he was only 16, Stamps ended up at the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center. When he turned 18, Stamps was moved into the Will County Adult Detention Center in downtown Joliet. He was held on a $3 million bail.

Last month, Stamps turned 20.

On Wednesday, Stamps appeared in Courtroom 407 of Will County Judge Dave Carlson. Lawyers representing the Will County Public Defender's Office and prosecutors from Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow's Office were present. The attorneys informed the judge that, three-and-a-half years into the case, a plea bargain was reached. Stamps had agreed to plead guilty to the reduced crime of second-degree murder. The plea agreement included a joint recommendation from lawyers on both sides asking for a 15-year prison sentence.

So on Wednesday, Stamps was sentenced on the spot, and given a term of 15 years at the Illinois Department of Corrections. Stamps, however, won't really be staying at the DOC until he turns 35. The terms of the plea deal give him good time credit, which is substantial.

Stamps has already spent more than 1,200 days in custody, which counts as time served.

In all likelihood, Stamps will remain imprisoned for another three to four years.

His sentencing recommendation also included two years of parole. Theoretically, Stamps could be returning to Joliet before his 25th birthday.

At the time of Stamps' arrest, in October 2014, Will County Sheriff's Police told Joliet Patch that murder victim Latray Wright and Stamps were members of different factions of the same gang.

"The victim may have been posting disparaging remarks about the other faction on Facebook," the late Deputy Chief Ken Kaupas said at the time.

Joliet Patch had extensive coverage of this murder case when it happened.

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Mugshots of killer Christopher Stamps via Will County Sheriff's Department