Former Wheaton Resident Pleads Not Guilty to Murder Solicitation Charges

Gordon Vanderark, 53, of Wheaton pleaded not guilty Monday to charges for solicitation of murder of four people, the Daily Herald reported.

Vanderark was ordered for soliciting the murder of two DuPage County officials, Judge Blanche Fawell and Assistant State's Attorney Audrey Anderson, his ex-wife Tina Williamson and Richard Temes, an acquaintance, according to a press release from DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin. Vanderark allegedly solicited a hit man between December 27, 2010 and November 15, 2011 while an inmate at the Centralia Correction Center.

He allegedly agreed to pay the hit man $70,000 for the killings and that he had already paid the hit man more than $2,000 in advance. He faces a 24-count indictment, according to the Daily Herald. If convicted, he could face a sentence of up to 80 years in prison.

On December 20, 2010, Judge Fawell sentenced Vanderark, who lived in the 1200 block of Bunker Hill Court in Wheaton, to 16 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after he pled guilty to Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI), a Class X Felony. His next court appearance is Jan. 23, according to the Daily Herald.