From $2M to $100K: Alleged Accomplice Claims Poverty in Murder-for-Hire Case

When you’re accused of plotting to hire a hitman, having a light bank account becomes your best (or only) defense. That’s exactly the angle Kai Cordrey is taking in his bid to escape a $2 Million bail that’s kept him locked up since May.

Cordrey, 26, is one of three defendants charged in an alleged murder-for-hire conspiracy targeting singer Jack Avery. According to court filings obtained by TMZ, prosecutors claim that Cordrey, along with Gabbie Gonzalez and her father Francisco Gonzalez, explored hiring someone through the dark web to kill Avery during a custody dispute over a daughter they share. All three have pleaded not guilty.

But here’s where the money talk gets real: Cordrey’s attorneys filed new court documents arguing their client simply can’t afford the bail that was set. The numbers tell a stark story—just over $6,400 in the bank, no property, no significant assets, and a work history that included plumbing apprentice gigs before his arrest. His legal team says he’s been living paycheck to paycheck and can only manage a $100,000 bond with help from his parents and a bail bondsman arrangement.

It’s a classic financial defense: no money, no way out. And while judges have heard this argument countless times, Cordrey’s lawyers are betting on his clean record (no prior criminal history) and his willingness to accept serious conditions—GPS monitoring, surrendering his passport, and staying put in California. The argument essentially boils down to: why keep someone in jail when they pose no flight risk and can’t reasonably post bail?

Now a judge will decide whether Cordrey’s financial reality justifies slashing the price tag by 95 percent. It’s a high-stakes game of prove-what-you-don’t-have, where poverty becomes leverage. The bigger question looming behind all this: even if he makes bail, what happens when trial comes?