Two Chicago men have found themselves in the crosshairs of the law, indicted on federal charges for a nefarious murder-for-hire plot gone deadly. Anthony Montgomery-Wilson, 24, and Preston Powell, 23, are facing life behind bars, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Wednesday for their alleged roles in a conspiracy that led to gunfire and death in the city's Roseland neighborhood.
Last January's cold-blooded killing outside the Youth Peace Center of Roseland was a stark reminder of the city's vicious cycle of violence. Montgomery-Wilson and Powell, now charged with setting up the hit on 24-year-old Stephon Mack in exchange for money. Mack lost his life in a barrage of bullets as he stepped into the Chicago afternoon, while a security guard, who survived, sustained injuries in the ambush. The indictment and accompanying search warrant, unsealed this week, spell out the chilling details of the pair's alleged scheme, as court documents note their purported dealings with others in their pursuit of a payout tainted with blood.
Montgomery-Wilson, whom authorities have since corraled, maintained his innocence during his arraignment before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim; his legal future will be revisited in a status hearing set for January 16, 2024. On the other hand, Powell has yet to be apprehended, with law enforcement on the hunt for the alleged conspirator, now considered a fugitive with an active arrest warrant out for his capture, the Justice Department stated.
Announced by a team including Acting United States Attorney Morris Pasqual and the top brass from the FBI and the Chicago Police Department, the case is a patchwork of inter-agency collaboration involving the Illinois Department of Corrections Northern Region Intelligence Unit. The trio of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Jared C. Jodrey, Jason A. Julien, and Brian F. Williamson, are carrying the government's will in court, all the while ensuring that despite the weighty accusations, the presumption of innocence stands until guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt. A conviction, however, spells potentially life-long ramifications, with mandatory life sentences associated with the murder-for-hire charges and the specter of the death penalty looming. Montgomery-Wilson also risks an additional decade in prison if found guilty on the firearm charge. As the legal process unfolds, the indictment is neither evidence of guilt nor a verdict, leaving the heavy lifting to the courts, where the final judgment awaits.
