Politics
Pay $800K to Man Who Spent 23 Years in Prison After Being Framed by Disgraced Ex-Detective, City Lawyers Recommend
(WTTW News)
Chicago taxpayers should pay $800,000 to a man who spent 23 years in prison after he was framed by a disgraced former Chicago police detective for a 1994 murder, city lawyers recommended.
William Negron was 17 when he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison after being investigated by Reynaldo Guevara, a former Chicago police detective accused of routinely framing suspects.
The proposed settlement is set to be considered Wednesday by the City Council’s Finance Committee. A final vote of the City Council could come on Feb. 18.
If approved, it would be the 10th lawsuit filed by Chicagoans who said they were the victims of Guevara’s misconduct to be resolved at a cost of approximately $113 million to Chicago taxpayers.
It is one of four lawsuits naming Guevara that city lawyers have recommended settling that the Finance Committee will consider resolving on Wednesday at a cost of $29.2 million.
A spokesperson for Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry said the proposed settlements “bring the matters to a responsible close” after extensive negotiations to reach resolutions that are fair, fiscally responsible, and in the best interest of taxpayers.”
Chicago taxpayers paid an additional $186,786 to defend Guevara and the other Chicago police officers named in Negron’s lawsuit, which was filed in 2018.
Negron’s lawsuit is one of 44 pending lawsuits against Guevara and the city.
Negron and Roberto Almodovar Jr., 19, were convicted of murdering 18-year-old Amy Merkes and 18-year-old Jorge Rodriguez, and wounding Jacqueline Grande, then 20, during a 1994 drive-by shooting in Hermosa. Another person, 19-year-old Kennelly Saez, was not injured during the shooting.
No physical evidence linked Negron to the double murder.
Grande and Saez testified during the trial that Almodovar fired the fatal shots from a car driven by Negron.
Before the trial, Grande told a lawyer working for Almodovar that Guevara showed her photos of Almodovar and Negron and told her they were responsible for shooting her and her friends. Guevara testified during Almodovar’s trial that he did not tell her who to identify as the gunman and the driver of the car.
During a 1999 hearing, Saez testified that Guevara and Grande showed him photos of Almodovar and Negron and identified them as the gunman and driver.
In 2013, an appellate court ordered a new hearing into the evidence against Almodovar and Negron. During that hearing, which did not take place until 2017, former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx abruptly recommended the convictions against Almodovar and Negron be vacated.
Almodovar was released, while Negron, who was also convicted of a separate murder that took place in 1994, remained incarcerated until 2018.
In July, the City Council agreed to pay $17 million to Almodovar.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
