Man Charged With Obstruction In Murder Of Highland Park Man
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A fourth man has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old Highland Park man whose body was found off the Edens Expressway June 3 in Wilmette.
Officials said Colin Nutter, 20, of Highland Park was murdered in a car in Highwood then dropped near the expressway June 3. Two Highland Park residents and a Highwood resident were charged with first-degree murder.
Bond was set at $100,000 this weekend for Francisco Anthony Martinez, 19. Martinez is charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly providing investigators with false information in the Nutter murder investigation, according to court records.
Martinez, of the 2600 block of Summit Ave., Highland Park may have provided the .40 caliber gun to Benjamin Schenk, 20, Philip Vatamaniuc, 17, and Michael Coffee, 17, to kill Nutter, Assistant State's Attorney Reginald Mathews said.
Martinez's parents kept guns in the house, Mathews said. An investigation is under way to determine whether or not Martinez gave the .40 caliber handgun to the three men, Mathews said.
"At this point, we don't know if the gun came from (Martinez's) house. It's being tested at the state crime lab," Mathews said.
Schenk, Coffee and Vatamaniuc are known to have spent the night at Martinez's house when Martinez's parents were not home, Mathews said.
Drugs were tied to Nutter's death, Mathews said. The trio is alleged to have met Nutter early Monday, June 3 to purchase marijuana from Nutter, officials said. They met with Nutter in his vehicle, a Dodge Stratus in neighboring Highwood. Officials said Coffee and Vatamaniuc gave statements that Schenk shot Nutter in the head.
Schenk and Vatamaniuc then moved Nutter into the trunk of his own vehicle and drove it to the area in Wilmette where officials later found Nutter's body, officials said.
The three men charged with first-degree murder are in custody at Lake County Jail in lieu of $5 million bond. They are each due for arraignment July 2.
Martinez is in custody at Lake County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond. He is due for bond review July 3.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
