Case: 1:17-cv-04560 Document #: 1 Filed: 06/19/17 Page 1 of 42 PageID #:1

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
JOSE MONTANEZ,
Plaintiff,
v.
CHICAGO POLICE OFFICERS
REYNALDO GUEVARA, ERNEST
HALVORSEN, EDWARD MINGEY, AND
UNKNOWN OFFICERS; MATTHEW
COGHLAN, JOHN DILLON; the CITY OF
CHICAGO; and COOK COUNTY.

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Case No.
District Judge
Magistrate Judge

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

Defendants.

COMPLAINT
Plaintiff JOSE MONTANEZ, by his attorneys, LOEVY & LOEVY, complains of
Defendants REYNALDO GUEVARA, ERNEST HALVORSEN, EDWARD MINGEY,
UNKNOWN CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICERS, former Assistant State’s
Attorneys MATTHEW COGHLAN and JOHN DILLON, the CITY OF CHICAGO, and COOK
COUNTY, as follows:
INTRODUCTION
1.

Plaintiff Jose Montanez was wrongfully convicted of the 1993 shooting death of

Rodrigo Vargas. Plaintiff was convicted solely because Defendants conspired among themselves
and with others and coerced Francisco Vincente, a heroin addict facing over 100 years of
incarceration on his own pending charges, to falsely implicate Plaintiff.
2.

This was a classic set-up by the now-notorious Chicago Police Detective

Defendant Reynaldo Guevara and his cohorts who specialized in precisely this type of

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misconduct. Over two decades, Defendants engaged in a disturbing succession of similar abuses,
frequently preying on young Latino men in order to close unsolved cases by framing them.
3.

Defendant Guevara has universally taken the Fifth about his activities as a

Chicago police officer in the face of over 100 incidents of his misconduct, asserting his right to
silence on grounds that truthful responses would subject him to criminal liability.
4.

For his part, Vicente has testified that his allegations against Plaintiff were all

fabricated, fed to him by the Defendant Detectives and coerced from him by force.
5.

Shockingly, Vicente revealed that Defendants not only coerced him to frame

Plaintiff, but also, time after time over a period of months, forced him to falsely implicate four
other men. In each case, Vicente falsely claimed that the men had confessed murder to him.
6.

Former Assistant Cook County State’s Attorneys Matthew Coghlan and John

Dillon, while acting in an investigatory function before Plaintiff’s arrest were in on the
conspiracy. The two conspired among themselves and with the law enforcement Defendants to
fabricate the false testimony from Vincente.
7.

Due to Defendants’ foul play, Plaintiff was convicted of Rodrigo Vargas’s 1993

shooting death and was sentenced to 55 years in prison.
8.

In 2016, after more than two decades in prison, Plaintiff was finally vindicated.

On June 7, 2016, the Appellate Court issued a scathing opinion directing the trial court to fully
hear Plaintiff’s claims of actual innocence. The Appellate Court characterized the presented
mountain of evidence of Defendant Guevara’s misconduct as “profoundly alarming.”
9.

Separately, the City conducted its own investigation into Defendant Guevara’s

misconduct against Plaintiff, and determined that Plaintiff deserved to be exonerated based on
his innocence.

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10.

Subsequently, the State moved to dismiss all charges against Plaintiff, and he was

finally set free on July 20, 2016. Without opposition, the state court issued Plaintiff a Certificate
of Innocence on November 2, 2016.
11.

Plaintiff now brings this action to obtain justice and redress the devastating

injuries that Defendants have caused him.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
12.

This action is brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to redress Defendants’

deprivation of Plaintiff’s rights secured by the U.S. Constitution.
13.

This Court has jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s federal claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §

1331 and supplemental jurisdiction over his state law claim for indemnification pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1367.
14.

Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). Plaintiff resides in this judicial

district, the majority of the Defendants reside in this judicial district, and the events and
omissions giving rise to Plaintiff’s claims occurred within this judicial district.
PARTIES
15.

Plaintiff Jose Montanez is a resident of Cook County, Illinois, who spent

approximately 23 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
16.

Defendant City of Chicago is an Illinois municipal corporation and is and/or was

the employer of each of the Defendant Officers. The City of Chicago is liable for the acts of the
Defendant Officers while acting within the scope of their employment for the City.
17.

At all times relevant hereto, Defendants Reynaldo Guevara, Ernest Halvorsen,

Edward Mingey, and other unknown law enforcement officers (collectively, the “Defendant
Officers”) were police officers in the Chicago Police Department acting under color of law and
within the scope of their employment for the City of Chicago.
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18.

Defendant Edward Mingey , at all relevant times, supervised the Police Officer

Defendants. He facilitated, condoned and approved the constitutional violations committed by
the Police Officer Defendants.
19.

At all relevant times, Matthew Coghlan and John Dillon were Assistant Cook

County State’s Attorneys. Coghlan and Dillon conspired with the Defendant Officers, prior to
the initiation of probable cause to believe Plaintiff had committed a crime, and while acting in
investigatory capacities, to conceal and fabricate evidence, manipulate witness testimony, and
maliciously prosecute Plaintiff for Rodrigo Vargas’s murder.
20.

Defendant Cook County is a governmental entity within the State of Illinois,

which consists in part of its Cook County State's Attorney's Office, and was at all relevant times
the employer of Defendants Matthew Coghlin and John Dillon. Defendant Cook County is a
necessary party to this lawsuit.
FACTS
21.

At about 5:30 a.m. on February 5, 1993, in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of

Chicago, Rodrigo Vargas left his home to go to work.
22.

Tragically, he was shot to death in his parked van, which was located directly in

front of his home, with the engine running.
23.

Investigators found his body along with the van’s pull-out radio in his hand and

$190 still in his wallet. There was no evidence that any property was stolen during the murder.
The shots that killed Vargas were fired from outside the van.
24.

A neighbor saw an older brown or tan car leave the scene. Apart from that vague

clue, there were no leads on who killed Vargas and no motive for the crime – Vargas was not a
member of a gang, a user of narcotics, or someone with enemies.

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Defendants Meet Their Prize Witness, Heroin Addict Vicente
25.

The Vargas murder remained unsolved for months, without a lead or any further

documented investigative activity.
26.

On May 14, 1993, heroin addict Francisco Vincente was arrested and charged

with four felonies. He had been committing robberies to feed his heroin addiction.
27.

When he met the Defendant Officers, Vicente was facing up to 100 years in

prison on his pending charges, was suffering symptoms of heroin withdrawal, and was highly
vulnerable to Defendants’ manipulation.
28.

Over the course of a few weeks during the summer of 1993, the Defendant

Officers coerced Vicente to “solve” three unrelated murders, going back to him time and time
again to fraudulently close more and more cases.
29.

First, Defendants violently coerced Vincente to falsely claim that while he was in

a holding cell upon his arrest, a stranger named Robert Bouto confessed to him about committing
murder.
30.

This was false. Bouto did not commit that murder and did not confess to Vicente.

Indeed, the City itself has determined that Bouto is innocent of the murder and that Vicente’s
claim was a lie.
31.

During the entirety of Vicente’s cooperation with the Defendant Officers on the

Bouto case, Vicente did not mention anything about the Vargas murder or knowing about any
other murders.
32.

Nevertheless, on June 2, 1993, Defendants Guevara and Halvorsen met with

Assistant State’s Attorneys Defendants Matthew Coughlan and John Dillon at the Cook County

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State’s Attorney’s office to discuss the prosecution of Robert Bouto and also the investigation of
the Vargas murder.
33.

Faced with no other way to “solve” the Vargas murder, Defendants Guevara,

Halvorsen, Coghlan, and Dillon agreed that they should go back to the well again to get Vicente
to falsely implicate Plaintiff in the Vargas murder.
34.

Although not reported in the Vargas murder investigation file, on May 25, 1993,

Defendant Guevara requested criminal history reports for Plaintiff and the men who would
become his co-defendants in the murder case, Armando Serrano and George Pacheco.
35.

There was no legitimate basis to run criminal history reports for any of the three

men at the time. For example, there is no suggestion that any of the three committed a crime on
or about that date, which would have justified running their backgrounds.
36.

Furthermore, the reports were run before anyone suggested that these men had

anything to do with the crime. Undoubtedly, this information was requested to determine
whether Defendants could plausibly frame the three for the Vargas murder.
Defendants Coerce Vincente to Implicate Plaintiff
37.

On June 2, 1993, Defendants Coughlan and Dillon arranged to have Vicente

transported from Cook County Jail to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. There,
Detective Guevara told Vicente, in the presence of Halvorsen, Coughlan, and Dillon, that he
wanted Vicente to say that he was present when Plaintiff, Serrano, and Pacheco attempted to rob
Vargas.
38.

Defendant Guevara presented Vincente with crime scene photos and photos of

Plaintiff, Serrano and Pacheco, telling Vincente that the three committed the murder. Defendants
Guevara and Halvorsen supplied Vincente with the details of the crime and told him what they

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wanted him to say in order to inculpate Plaintiff and the others. At this point in the Vargas
investigation, there was absolutely no suggestion from any source that Plaintiff, Serrano, or
Pacheco had anything to do with the crime.
39.

Defendants tried to force Vincente to admit to being an eyewitness to the Vargas

murder. First, Defendants attempted to coerce Vincente to admit to witnessing the shooting, as
the driver of the supposed culprits’ car. Defendants Coughlan and Dillon promised Vicente that
he had nothing to worry about if he just cooperated and did what Guevara and Halvorsen told
him to do. However, Vicente insisted that he would not make himself an eyewitness to the crime.
40.

When Vincente refused, Defendants – reluctant to have yet another murder where

the (framed) culprits just “happened” to confess to Vincente – tried to force him to adopt a
version where the suspects gave Vincente the murder weapon. When Vincente again refused,
Defendants returned to their old stand-by and had Vincente claim that, once again, the villains
just happened to confess to him.
41.

According to Vicente, Defendants beat him to persuade him to cooperate with

their frame up. Having previously been beaten in the head repeatedly with a phone book before
agreeing to frame Bouto, Vincente knew that his resistance was futile.
42.

Defendants concocted a story for Vincente of how the murder transpired. One of

the details Defendants fed to Vincente was their invented motive for the crime: that Plaintiff,
Serrano, and Pacheco had encountered Mr. Vargas at a gas station with his family the night
before the shooting, seen that he was carrying a lot of money, and decided to follow him and rob
him later, when he was not with his family (“the Gas Station Encounter”).
43.

Unexplained in Defendants’ Gas Station Encounter story is how Plaintiff,

Serrano, and Pacheco would know that Mr. Vargas would leave very early the next morning,

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providing them the opportunity to rob him when few people would be in a position to witness the
events.
44.

Nevertheless, as a result of physical abuse and undisclosed promises, Vincente

falsely implicated Plaintiff, Serrano and Pacheco and, as instructed by Defendants, incorporated
the Gas Station Encounter motive into his inculpation. He claimed that Plaintiff, Serrano, and
Pacheco, after encountering the victim at the gas station, had laid in wait all night on the offchance that the victim would be alone the following morning.
45.

Defendants falsely reported that only after they learned of the Gas Station

Encounter motive from Vincente that they independently confirmed with the decedent’s widow,
Ms. Vargas, that the Gas Station Encounter had taken place. This was a complete fabrication.
46.

In reality, the Defendants knew about the Gas Station Encounter long before they

fed this fact to Vicente.
47.

Back in February 1993, Ms. Vargas told Defendants about events similar to the

Gas Station Encounter. In her version of the event, while speculating about who could have
killed her husband, the Gas Station Encounter was a benign event: The night before the shooting,
her family had stopped at the gas station, after her husband had cashed a check at the bank; an
occupant from a car had entered the gas station, as Rodrigo Vargas was leaving; because the car
was blocking her family’s van, they had to wait for the car to leave before they could leave; and
the car left the same way as the Vargas’ van and drove behind them for a short while.
48.

Critically, Ms. Vargas’s testimony about the encounter diverged from the story

falsely regurgitated by Vicente in several material respects. According to her, there is no
evidence that the three men from the gas station on the night before the murder saw Vargas’
money, followed the Vargas family home, or were responsible for the murder.

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49.

To falsely corroborate Vicente’s story, Defendants manipulated Ms. Vargas into

identifying Plaintiff’s car as the one she had seen at the gas station the night before the murder.
50.

Specifically, Defendants Guevara and Halvorsen drove Ms. Vargas to Plaintiff’s

car and lied to her that ballistics evidence taken from Plaintiff’s car forensically matched
evidence from the scene of the crime. This was entirely false. There was no ballistics evidence
that could possibly link Plaintiff’s car to the crime scene, but Ms. Vargas trusted the detectives
and, based on their misrepresentation to her, identified Plaintiff’s car as the one she had seen at
the gas station.
51.

To cover up their misconduct, Defendants falsely claimed that Ms. Vargas

identified Plaintiff’s car while they merely drove around with her until she indicated that she
spotted the car that she had seen (benignly) parked at the gas station the night before her husband
was murdered four months before.
52.

Defendants also withheld the fact that they had falsely told Ms. Vargas that

ballistics evidence from the crime scene matched Plaintiff’s car.
53.

Eventually, Vincente gave in to Defendants’ coercion and falsely claimed that on

February 5, 1993, at around 8:00 or 9:00 a.m., he encountered Montanez, Serrano, and Pacheco
and that the three were talking about having just committed a murder.
54.

According to Vincente’s coerced statement, Montanez complained that Serrano

had botched the plan, so they were not able to get any money off of the victim. Vincente claimed
that Montanez described the context for the shooting, explaining that the trio had seen a Mexican
man at a gas station with a lot of cash the night before, so they decided to rob him, but they
waited until morning to get him alone, because the man had been with his wife and children at
the gas station.

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55.

After meeting with Vicente and Defendants Coughlan and Dillon, Defendants

Guevara and Halvorsen prepared a fictitious supplemental police report, falsely claiming that a
confidential informant told them that Montanez admitted his involvement in the murder and
further implicated Plaintiff, Serrano, and Pacheco.
56.

On June 28, 1993, Defendants Coughlan and Dillon arranged to have Vicente

brought to the Cook County State’s Attorney office to formalize the false witness statement
Defendants constructed with him prior to Plaintiff’s arrest.
Yet Another Man Supposedly Confesses to Vincente
57.

After coercing Vincente to frame Montanez, Serrano, Pacheco, and Bouto,

Defendants returned to the Vincente well one final time and coerced Vincente to “solve” a third
unrelated murder.
58.

At Defendants’ behest, a few weeks after falsely accusing Plaintiff, Vincente

falsely implicated a man named Iglesias in that third murder. Vincente claimed that Iglesias
confessed that he committed murder to Vincente while the two were in the bullpen together,
awaiting court. Defendants again fed Vincente the details of the crime for the “confession.”
59.

All told, in a matter of weeks, Vicente claimed that five different men confessed

to three murders – all reported by him after he was facing over 100 years in prison on pending
charges, and two of the “confessions” conveniently coming from strangers who supposedly
confessed to Vincente after he was incarcerated on his own charges.
60.

In exchange for his testimony on all three murder cases, Defendant Guevara

promised Vincente that his four pending felony charges, for which he was facing up to 100 years
in prison, would “work out fine.”

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61.

Defendant Guevara also paid Vincente money and arranged to get him special

privileges while he was incarcerated. While in jail, Vincente received perks like cigarettes, a
radio, home-cooked meals, conjugal visits, and other things not generally available to inmates, in
order to ensure his continued cooperation in the Montanez prosecution.
62.

In fact, after testifying before the grand jury, Vicente was placed in the State’s

Attorney’s witness quarters where he spent the next three years, receiving a wide array of
benefits in exchange for his cooperation in the three separate murder prosecutions. According to
Vicente, he was transported back and forth between these quarters and the Cook County State’s
Attorney’s office more times than he could count where he was prepped and coached by
Defendants Coghlan and Dillon in preparation for his testimony in the murder prosecutions
against Bouto, Plaintiff (and his co-defendants), and Iglesias.
Defendants Coerce Evidence from Timothy Rankins
63.

Recognizing that their case against Plaintiff, Serrano, and Pacheco was flimsy,

Defendants sought to devise further false evidence. On June 10, 1993, a Chicago police officer
arrested Timothy Rankins and put him in a car with Defendants Guevara, Halvorsen, and
Mingey. Defendants told Rankins that he had to falsely implicate Plaintiff, Serrano and Pacheco
for murder, and when Rankins refused, Defendants Guevara, Halvorsen, and Mingey kicked,
beat and threatened him.
64.

Resorting to a tried and true method of abuse used by abusive Chicago Police

detectives of that era, as part of this beating Defendants put a phone book against Rankins’s head
and struck the phone book, causing a very painful concussive effect without leaving physical
marks.
65.

Defendants presented Rankins with a statement, purporting to be his own

statement, and commanded him to learn the contents. During their efforts to force Rankins to
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adopt the statement as his own, Defendants choked Rankins, beat him, kicked him, and hit him in
his genitals. He was assaulted until he agreed to sign the statement.
66.

Defendants told Rankins that he would be charged with an armed robbery, but

that the charges would be dismissed if he cooperated in implicating Plaintiff, Serrano and
Pacheco.
67.

Rankins’ entire implication was false, fabricated by Defendants. Defendants

forced Rankins to repeat the false accusations against Plaintiff to the prosecutor and the grand
jury. Rankins did not know Plaintiff, Serrano, or Pacheco, and had never met them.
68.

Defendants ensured that Rankins was housed along with Vincente in the special

witness quarters. Defendants brought the two “witnesses” money and afforded them special
privileges.
69.

Nevertheless, Rankins ultimately refused to falsely implicate Plaintiff and did not

testify at his trial.
Plaintiff, Serrano, and Pacheco Deny Involvement
70.

Defendants arrested Plaintiff, Serrano, and Pacheco based exclusively on

evidence they fabricated.
71.

Each man has consistently denied having any involvement in the Vargas murder

from start to finish.
72.

During Serrano’s interrogation, Defendant Guevara hit him in the face with an

open hand while Serrano was shackled to a police station wall in a failed attempt to get him to
confess. When Serrano’s mother and father arrived at the police station, they could hear their son
screaming for a lawyer.

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Plaintiff’s Trial
73.

No inculpatory evidence other than the evidence fabricated by Defendants was

relied upon at Plaintiff’s criminal trial.
74.

Vincente testified at trial in exchange for his plea deal. He testified, in accordance

with the Defendants’ fabricated story, that on the morning of the shooting, he encountered
Plaintiff, Serrano, and Pacheco, and they confessed the murder to him. Per Defendants’
instructions, Vincente testified that the trio’s motive for the murder was that they had seen the
decedent carrying a lot of money at a gas station the night before.
75.

Defendants Guevara and Halvorsen falsely testified at trial that law enforcement

first learned of the Gas Station Encounter from Vincente, confirmed that information with Ms.
Vargas, and then had her independently identify Plaintiff’s car.
76.

The court found Plaintiff guilty of armed robbery and murder. The court expressly

found the evidence to be slim, and acquitted Pacheco on the same evidence. But the court
ultimately relied on Vincente’s supposed insider knowledge of the Gas Station Encounter as
proof that Plaintiff and Serrano must have confessed to him.
77.

The court sentenced Plaintiff to 55 years of incarceration.

78.

Without the Defendants’ misconduct, Plaintiff would never have been prosecuted

for or convicted of Vargas’ murder.
79.

To secure Plaintiff’s conviction, Defendant Dillon cut a deal with Vicente that

gave him less than the minimum sentence for his crimes: Dillon gave Vicente 344 days of pretrial custody credit to which he was not entitled, in effect knocking two years off the time he
would have to serve in the penitentiary. This benefit was never disclosed to Plaintiff.

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Policy and Practice of Prosecuting Innocent Persons in Violation of Due Process
80.

The Chicago Police Department is responsible for scores of miscarriages of

justice. Since 1986, no fewer than 70 documented cases have come to light in which Chicago
Police Detectives amassed “evidence” against an innocent person for a serious crime that he did
not commit. There are undoubtedly many more such cases that have not yet been discovered.
81.

The false charges against innocent people include numerous cases in which

Chicago Police Officers used the very same tactics that Defendants employed against Plaintiff in
this case, including: (1) procuring false witness testimony from detainees and “jailhouse
snitches;” (2) concealment of exculpatory evidence; (3) manipulation of witnesses in order to
obtain false identifications; (4) manipulation of witnesses in order to influence their testimony;
and (5) the use of other tactics to secure the arrest, prosecution and conviction of a person
without regard to his actual guilt or innocence of the offense.
82.

At all times relevant hereto, members of the Chicago Police Department,

including the Defendants in this action, routinely manufactured evidence against innocent
persons by coercing, manipulating, threatening, pressuring, and offering inducements to
detainees to make false witness statements implicating innocent persons, knowing full well that
those statements were false. As a matter of widespread custom and practice, members of the
Chicago Police Department, including the Defendants in this action, contrived false witness
narratives that were fed to vulnerable “jailhouse snitches” who then adopted those false witness
narratives as their own for the purpose of wrongly convicting an innocent person. Furthermore,
Chicago Police Department officers systematically suppressed exculpatory and/or impeaching
material by concealing evidence that a jailhouse witness was coerced, manipulated, threatened,
pressured or offered inducements to make false statements.

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83.

Consistent with the municipal policy and practice described in the preceding

paragraph, employees of the City of Chicago, including the named Defendants, procured false
testimony from detainee witnesses knowing full well that their testimony was false and would
lead to the wrongful conviction of Plaintiff. The tactics and inducements used to gain
cooperation from these jailhouse witnesses was concealed from Plaintiff.
84.

At all times relevant hereto, members of the Chicago Police Department,

including the Defendants in this action, systematically suppressed exculpatory and/or
impeaching material by intentionally secreting discoverable reports, memos and other
information in files that were maintained solely at the police department and were not disclosed
to the participants of the criminal justice system. As a matter of widespread custom and practice,
these clandestine files were withheld from the State’s Attorney’s Office and from criminal
defendants, and they were routinely destroyed at the close of the investigation, rather than being
maintained as part of the official file.
85.

Consistent with the municipal policy and practice described in the preceding

paragraph, employees of the City of Chicago, including the named Defendants, concealed
exculpatory evidence from Plaintiff.
86.

At all times relevant hereto, members of the Chicago Police Department,

including the Defendants in this action, routinely manipulated, tricked, lied to, and misled
witnesses for the purpose of influencing their testimony to conform to a false narrative contrived
by the officers themselves. As a matter of widespread practice and custom, these tactics were
also used to induce false identifications of suspects.

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87.

Consistent with the municipal policy and practice described in the preceding

paragraph, employees of the City of Chicago, including the named Defendants, manipulated,
tricked, and improperly influenced the testimony of the victim’s widow, Wilda Vargas.
88.

The City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department routinely failed to

investigate cases in which Chicago Police Detectives recommended charging an innocent person
with a serious crime, and no Chicago Police Officer has ever been disciplined as a result of his
misconduct in any of those cases.
89.

Prior to and during 1993, the year in which Plaintiff was falsely charged with the

Vargas murder, the City of Chicago operated a dysfunctional disciplinary system for Chicago
Police Officers accused of serious misconduct. The City’s Office of Professional Standards
almost never imposed significant discipline against police officers accused of violating the civil
and constitutional rights of members of the public. The Chicago Police disciplinary apparatus
included no mechanism for identifying police officers who were repeatedly accused of engaging
in the same type of misconduct.
90.

As a matter of both policy and practice, municipal policy makers and department

supervisors condoned and facilitated a code of silence with the Chicago Police Department. In
accordance with this code, officers refused to report and otherwise lied about misconduct
committed by their colleagues, including the misconduct at issue in this case.
91.

As a result of the City of Chicago’s established practice of not tracking and

identifying police officers who are repeatedly accused of the same kinds of serious misconduct,
failing to investigate cases in which the police are implicated in a wrongful charge or conviction,
failing to discipline officers accused of serious misconduct and facilitating a code of silence
within the Chicago Police Department, officers (including the Defendants here) have come to

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believe that they may violate the civil rights of members of the public and cause innocent
persons to be charged with serious crimes without fear of adverse consequences. As a result of
these policies and practices of the City of Chicago, members of the Chicago Police Department
act with impunity when they violate the constitutional and civil rights of citizens.
92.

Defendants Guevara and Halvorsen have a long history of engaging in the kind of

investigative misconduct that occurred in this case, including the manipulation of witnesses,
fabrication of evidence, and concealment of evidence in the course of maliciously prosecuting
innocent persons. There are dozens of known cases in which Guevara and/or Halvorsen have
engaged in serious investigative misconduct, including many cases in which they have
manipulated and coerced witnesses and fabricated and concealed evidence, as they did in this
case. They engaged in such misconduct because they had no reason to fear that the City of
Chicago and its Police Department would ever discipline them for doing so.
93.

The City of Chicago and its Police Department failed in 1993 and in the years

prior to provide adequate training to Chicago Police Detectives and other officers in any of the
following areas, among others:
a.

The constitutional requirement to disclose exculpatory evidence, including how to
identify such evidence and what steps to take when exculpatory evidence has been
identified in order to ensure that the evidence is made part of the criminal
proceeding.

b.

The need to refrain from manipulation or potentially coercive conduct in relation
to witnesses.

c.

The risks associated with relying on testimony from “jailhouse snitches.”

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d.

The risks of wrongful conviction and the steps police officers should take to
minimize risks.

e.

The risks of engaging in tunnel vision during investigation.

f.

The need for full disclosure, candor, and openness on the part of all officers who
participate in the police disciplinary process, both as witnesses and as accused
officers, and the need to report misconduct committed by fellow officers.

94.

The need for police officers to be trained in these areas was and remains obvious.

The City’s failure to train Chicago Police Officers as alleged in the preceding paragraph
proximately caused Plaintiff’s wrongful conviction and his injuries.
95.

The City’s failure to train, supervise, and discipline its officers, including repeat

offenders such as Defendants Guevara and Halvorsen, effectively condones, ratifies, and
sanctions the kind of misconduct that the Police Officer Defendants committed against Plaintiff
in this case. Constitutional violations such as those that occurred in this case are encouraged and
facilitated as a result of the City’s practices and de facto polices, as alleged above.
96.

The City of Chicago and officials within the Chicago Police Department failed to

act to remedy the patterns of abuse described in the preceding paragraphs, despite actual
knowledge of the pattern of misconduct. They thereby perpetuated the unlawful practices and
ensured that no action would be taken (independent of the judicial process) to remedy Plaintiff’s
ongoing injuries.
97.

The policies and practices described in the foregoing paragraphs were consciously

approved by the City of Chicago policymakers who were deliberately indifferent to the
violations of constitutional rights described herein.

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Defendant Guevara’s History of Framing Innocent Persons
98.

In particular, Defendant Guevara has framed literally dozens of other innocent

men over the span of two decades, men who have all lodged independent accusations of similar
misconduct against him.
99.

For his part, Defendant Guevara is now refusing to testify about any of his

activities as a Chicago police officer on grounds that truthful testimony would subject him to
criminal liability.
100.

Defendant Guevara has a long history of engaging in precisely the kind of

investigative misconduct that occurred in this case, including abusive tactics, manipulation of
witnesses, fabrication of evidence, and concealment of evidence in the course of maliciously
prosecuting innocent persons. There are dozens of identified cases in which Guevara has
engaged in serious investigative misconduct, including many cases in which he has manipulated
and coerced witnesses and fabricated and concealed evidence, as he did in this case.
101.

Given this extensive history, it is apparent that Guevara engaged in such

misconduct because he had no reason to fear that the City of Chicago and its Police Department
would ever discipline him for doing so.
102.

Regarding his role in framing Plaintiff, Defendant Guevara has asserted his Fifth

Amendment right to silence when questioned about: whether he framed Plaintiff; whether he
coerced Vicente to falsely implicate Plaintiff; whether he fed facts to Vicente; whether he
coerced Rankins to falsely implicate Plaintiff; and whether he purposely misled Ms. Vargas into
falsely identifying Plaintiff’s car.
103.

Repeatedly, Defendant Guevara has also invoked his Fifth Amendment right not

to answer any questions about allegations that he manipulated dozens of witnesses to provide

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false identifications because truthful responses could subject him to criminal liability, including
every single instance of misconduct detailed below.
104.

Examples of Defendant Guevara’s misconduct include:

a.

Bill Dorsch is a former Chicago police detective. While serving with the Chicago
police department, Dorsch was assigned to investigate a murder. Several months
after the murder occurred, Defendant Guevara brought two juveniles to the police
station who purported to have witnessed a shooting and recorded the license place
of the shooter. Based on the information provided, Detective Dorsch created a
photo array for the juveniles to attempt to identify the shooter. While the first
juvenile was viewing the photo array, and before he identified any of the
photographs, Defendant Guevara pointed to the suspect’s photo and told the
juvenile “that’s him.” The juvenile then agreed with Guevara, saying that was the
person who committed the shooting. Dorsch then directed Defendant Guevara to
leave the room and had the other juvenile view the same photo array, and he was
unable to make any identification. Based on the first juvenile’s identification, the
suspect was charged with murder. Subsequently, Dorsch spoke to the two
juveniles without Defendant Guevara being present. The juveniles admitted that
they had been paid to falsely claim that the suspect was the person responsible for
the shooting. After prosecutors spoke to the two juveniles, the suspect was
released.

b.

Defendant Guevara’s activities have drawn the interest of federal law enforcement
officers. In 2001, the FBI authored a special report detailing the criminal activity
of Chicago Police Officer Joseph Miedzianowski and his associates, including

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Defendant Guevara. The report details that Defendant Guevara, while acting in
his capacity as a police officer, would apprehend drug and gun dealers and then
allow them to “buy their way of trouble.” According to the report, Guevara also
took bribes to alter both positive and negative lineups of murder suspects. Finally,
the report states that Guevara, using an attorney as a conduit, would receive cash
in exchange for the ultimate dismissal of murder cases he investigated.
c.

In 1989, Defendant Guevara coerced Samuel Perez into falsely identifying Juan
Johnson as the person who killed Ricardo Fernandez. Defendant Guevara put
Perez inside his car, showed Perez a photo of Juan Johnson, and told Perez that he
wanted Juan Johnson to take the blame for the murder. Unsurprisingly, Perez
subsequently falsely identified Johnson as a murderer.

d.

In 1989, Defendant Guevara also coerced Salvador Ortiz into making a false
identification of Juan Johnson, which he later recanted.

e.

Juan Johnson was later exonerated and brought suit against Defendant Guevara. A
federal jury found that Guevara framed Johnson for murder and awarded Johnson
$21 million in damages.

f.

In 1989, Defendant Guevara coerced Virgilio Muniz into making a false
identification by repeatedly threatening Muniz that if he did not identify Manuel
Rivera as the murderer, Muniz would “go down for the murder.”

g.

In 1989, Defendant Guevara coerced Virgilio Calderon Muniz (unrelated to
Virgilio Muniz, described in the above paragraph) into making a false
identification by telling him who to identify and making a veiled threat as to what
would happen if he did not.

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h.

In 1991, Defendant Guevara coerced Wilfredo Rosario into making a false
identification and giving false testimony before the Grand Jury by threatening
Rosario that if he did not identify Xavier Arcos as the murderer, Rosario would be
“pinned” for the murder. Guevara fed Rosario details of the crime, such as the
number of shots fired, the type of vehicle used in the crime, and the participants in
the crime. Rosario recanted his identification of Arcos at trial. Though Arcos was
still found guilty of murder by a jury, the appellate court overturned the
conviction based on the lack of sufficient evidence.

i.

In 1991, Defendant Guevara physically coerced sixteen year-old David Velazquez
into making a false identification and giving false testimony by taking him to a
rival gang’s territory, beating him while chained to a wall at Area 5, and
threatening to “get you for anything I can” if he did not talk. All of the false
details of Velazquez’s statement were provided by Guevara.

j.

In 1993, Defendant Guevara coerced an identification from Carl Richmond by
threatening Richmond that he could make his life very uncomfortable if Richmond
did not identify Robert Bouto as the murderer of one of Richmond’s friends.
Richmond, who was familiar with Guevara’s tactics, believed that Guevara would
honor this threat.

k.

In 1995, Defendant Guevara arrested Edwin Davila and, in an attempt to coerce a
confession, chained him to the wall of an interrogation room and told him that he
was going to frame him for murder. After Davila told Guevara that he did not do it,
Guevara forced Davila to participate in a lineup in which two witnesses identified

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Davila as the perpetrator, despite the fact that each of those witnesses had
previously told the police that they had not been able to see the shooter.
l.

In 1991, Defendant Guevara told Efrain and Julio Sanchez to pick David Colon
out of a lineup. As a result, these men falsely claimed that Colon had committed
murder, but later came forward to bring Defendant Guevara’s misconduct to light.

m.

In 1995, Defendant Guevara coerced Evelyn Diaz into making a false
identification and providing false testimony to the Grand Jury by threatening Diaz
that if she did not identify Luis Serrano as the shooter, her children would be taken
away by the Department of Children and Family Services.

n.

In 1995, Defendant Guevara told Luis Figueroa to falsely identify Angel Diaz as
the perpetrator even though Figueroa did not see anything. Figueroa identified
Diaz but recanted his identification at trial.

o.

In 1995, Defendant Guevara coerced Gloria Ortiz Bordoy into making a false
statement and testifying falsely against Santos Flores at trial. During Ortiz
Bordoy’s six-to-eight hour interrogation, Guevara yelled in her face, threatened
that her children would be taken by the Department of Children and Family
Services, called her “the B word,” and “raised his hand” saying that he “felt like
smacking” her. Finally, without reading its contents, Ortiz Bordoy signed a
statement that the detectives wrote out for her because she just wanted to “get out
of there.”

p.

In 1995, Defendant Guevara coerced Rodolfo Zaragoza, who was a victim and an
eyewitness to a crime, into making a false identification and providing false

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testimony. Zaragosa was intimidated by Guevara and identified Ricardo Rodriguez
as the offender because Guevara told him that Rodriguez was the shooter.
q.

In 1995, Defendant Guevara engaged in misconduct when he told Jose Melendez
to falsely identify Thomas Sierra as the shooter even though Melendez did not see
the shooter. Melendez identified Sierra, but recanted his identification at trial.

r.

In 1996, Defendant Guevara coerced Maria Rivera into making a false
identification of a man in a lineup by unzipping his pants and propositioning her.
Rivera later told the prosecutor that she had falsely identified an individual in a
lineup at Guevara’s direction. The prosecution later abandoned murder charges
against the individual whom Rivera falsely identified in the lineup.

s.

In 1997, Defendant Guevara coerced Robert Ruiz into making a false
identification. Guevara detained Ruiz repeatedly over the course of a ten-day
period, locking him in an interrogation room without food, water, or a bathroom.
Though Ruiz kept telling Guevara that he had not seen the shooter or the driver
involved in the crime, Guevara told Ruiz whom to identify and what to say in his
statement. Ruiz finally implicated Freddy and Concepcion Santiago in the murder
because Ruiz believed that Guevara would continue to harass him until he changed
his story. Ruiz recanted his identification at trial, and the judge found Freddy and
Concepcion Santiago not guilty. The trial judge found it disturbing that Guevara
was the lead detective in the case because the victim was Guevara’s nephew.

t.

In 1997, Defendant Guevara withheld physical evidence and failed to disclose the
exculpatory statements of witness Ruth Atonetty to Ariel Gomez. Gomez was
accused of firing multiple shots from a car into a crowd. Ruth Antonetty told

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Guevara that she heard multiple shots coming from within the crowd, not from
Gomez’s vehicle. Guevara continued to pressure her to change her account, and
when she would not, he told her he “had other witnesses” and “didn’t need her.”
As a result, Ariel Gomez did not have access to key Brady material at his trial.
u.

In 1988, Defendant Guevara used suggestive tactics to force twelve-year-old
Orlando Lopez to falsely identify Jacques Rivera as the person who shot Felix
Valentin. As a result, Rivera was convicted of murder. In 2011, Lopez testified
at an evidentiary hearing that he had never been able to identify Rivera as the
murderer. As a result, Rivera received a new trial. Ultimately, the State’s
Attorney dropped all charges against Rivera, who was granted a certificate of
innocence.

v.

Also during the Felix Valentin shooting investigation, Defendant Guevara falsely
claimed that the victim of that shooting identified Jacques Rivera as his shooter
before he died. Defendant Guevara claimed that the identification was made at a
time that the victim was in a medically-induced coma, unresponsive to any
stimuli, and laying in a bed that was in constant motion to prevent his lungs from
filling with fluid and killing him.

w.

In November 2001, Defendant Guevara’s girlfriend, Judith Martinez, attended a
trial in which Guevara was testifying and observed the testimony of trial
witnesses. She then conferred with Guevara, even though the Court had ordered
all witnesses excluded from the courtroom to prevent collusion among the
witnesses.

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x.

In 2011, the first district granted Tony Gonzalez a post-conviction hearing on the
basis that Defendant Guevara conducted an unduly suggestive lineup wherein he
concocted an array in which Gonzalez’s photo was the only one that stood out
from the rest in a photo array.

y.

In 1982, Defendant Guevara and another officer arrested and physically assaulted
Annie Turner for smoking on a bus. Guevara called her a “bitch” and pushed her
out the back door of the bus. He twisted her arm, threatened to “snap” it, and
handcuffed her so tightly that her skin broke. He also hit her across the face with
a metal bracelet he was wearing and called her a “nigger bitch.” Turner sought
medical treatment and filed a complaint with the Office of Professional Standards.

z.

In 1982, Defendant Guevara and three other officers broke through Almarie
Lloyd’s locked front door and conducted a warrantless search of her home. When
Lloyd asked who they were, she was told to shut up. The officers terrified Lloyd,
her brother, and two children, and left the home in shambles. Lloyd filed a
complaint with the Office of Professional Standards the next day.

aa.

In 1983, Defendant Guevara and other officers forcibly removed Leshurn Hunt
from his home and handcuffed him to a ring in the wall at the police station where
he was beaten about the head, face, and body until he confessed to murder and
robbery charges. Hunt was detained for approximately 23 hours and deprived of
food, water, and sleep until after he confessed. Hunt sought medical treatment for
his injuries and filed a complaint with the Office of Professional Standards.
Witnesses who saw Hunt while in custody corroborated his claim of a beating by
the police. The criminal court judge suppressed Hunt’s confession, and a jury

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returned a favorable verdict in a related civil rights action on Hunt’s claim of
excessive detention against the City of Chicago.
bb.

In 1984, Defendant Guevara and other officers physically assaulted Graciela Flores
and her 13-year old sister Anna during a search of their home, during which the
officers did not identify themselves as police. Guevara repeatedly slapped
Graciela, called her a “bitch” and pulled her hair. As a result of this incident,
Graciela’s arm was put in a sling and she spent one week in the hospital.

cc.

In 1985, Defendant Guevara attempted to coerce a false statement from Reynaldo
Munoz. Guevara handcuffed Munoz and put him in the back of a squad car. When
Munoz denied knowing the people Guevara was asking about, Guevara repeatedly
hit him in the mouth with his fist. Guevara then took Munoz to rival gang territory
where he allowed rival gang members to spit on Munoz and beat Munoz about the
head.

dd.

In 1986, Defendant Guevara threw Rafael Garcia against a car, struck him in the
face several times, kicked him and hit him in the head. Garcia filed a complaint
with the Chicago Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards (OPS).
Although Guevara denied the charges, Garcia’s complaints were corroborated by
physical evidence, as he was treated at the hospital for lacerations to the head.
After an investigation into the incident, OPS found that Guevara had lied about
the incident and recommended that Guevara be suspended for two days.

ee.

In 1986, Defendant Guevara and two other officers coerced a confession from
Daniel Pena by beating him about the face and ribs with their hands and about the
groin and thighs with flashlights during an interrogation. Pena was taken to see a

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doctor where he complained about being beaten by the police. The doctor found
bruising to Pena’s legs and abrasions and lacerations to Pena’s nose. Family
members corroborated Pena’s claim that he had been beaten while in police
custody.
ff.

In 1986, Defendant Guevara pulled over Melvin Warren because Warren cut him
off while driving westbound on Augusta Boulevard. Guevara called Warren a
“nigger dog” and “threatened to tear [Warren’s] head off.” Guevara hit Warren in
the face with a closed fist and then forced him down into the front seat of his car
and began to choke him. Two eyewitnesses confirmed that Guevara initiated the
beating. In response to this incident, Warren sought medical treatment and filed a
complaint with the Office of Professional Standards (OPS). OPS sustained
Warren’s allegations that Guevara had physically and verbally assaulted him and
recommended that Guevara be reprimanded.

gg.

In 1989, Defendant Guevara coerced a false confession from Victor Vera by
transporting him to rival gang territory and threatening to release him unless he
confessed to the murder of Edwin Castaneda. Fearing for his life, Vera agreed to
falsely confess to a crime he knew nothing about.

hh.

In 1991, Defendant Guevara coerced David Rivera into signing a confession for
murder by intimidation, threats, and inducements. Guevara told Rivera that if he
confessed he would serve seven years in prison whereas if he did not confess, he
would be sent away for fifty years. Guevara then promised Rivera that if he
signed a statement, he could go home.

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ii.

In 1991, Defendant Guevara coerced a false confession from Daniel Rodriguez
through the use of threats and intimidation. While en route to the police station,
Guevara threatened to harm Rodriguez’s family if he did not cooperate. Once at
Area 5, Rodriguez was chained to a wall, denied food, water, and use of a
restroom, and beaten by Guevara’s partner, Defendant Halvorsen in the chest and
torso. Guevara provided details of the crime to Rodriguez to include in
Rodriguez’s false confession.

jj.

In 1992, Defendant Guevara engaged in misconduct when he interrogated
Jacqueline Montanez (no relation to Plaintiff) without a youth officer present. The
appellate court reversed and remanded Ms. Montanez’s conviction for murder,
noting that “not only was defendant interrogated before having an opportunity to
confer with a concerned adult, but, worse, any opportunity to do so was
effectively frustrated by police.”

kk.

In 1993, Defendant Guevara arrested fifteen year old Eliezar Cruzado and
threatened him with life imprisonment if he did not make a statement implicating
himself in a murder. Guevara also told Cruzado that he could go home and see his
family again, but only if he agreed to make a statement. At the time, Cruzado had
a limited ability to read and write.

ll.

In 1993, Defendant Guevara used physical force and threats to coerce a false
confession from Adolfo Frias-Munoz. Over the course of a two-day interrogation,
Frias-Munoz was handcuffed to a ring on the wall of the interrogation room, hit in
the face with an open hand by Defendant Guevara, and beaten by two other
officers. Though isolated in a locked interrogation room, Frias-Munoz could hear

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his wife screaming and his son crying in another room. Guevara threatened FriasMunoz that if he did not confess, his wife would go to prison and his children
would be taken away. Frias-Munoz, who did not speak English, agreed to give a
statement to an assistant state’s attorney. Frias-Munoz spoke in Spanish and
Guevara translated the statement so that the prosecutor could write the statement in
English. Frias-Munoz then signed a statement he could not read.
mm.

In 1994, Defendant Guevara, after 14 hours of interrogation, coerced a confession
from Adrian Duta by hitting him in the face with an open palm, punching him in
the stomach, and telling him he could go home if he signed a statement. When
Duta’s father came to see Duta at the station house, Duta was exhausted and
crying and repeatedly said that he did not know what he had signed and had only
signed the document so he could go home. Duta complained to his father of being
struck in the head and stomach by Guevara.

nn.

In 1995, Defendants Guevara and Halvorsen coerced a confession from 17-year-old
Santos Flores after handcuffing him to the wall of a locked interview room and
refusing his requests for an attorney. During the course of the 11-hour
interrogation, Guevara yelled at him, slapped him numerous times on the side of
his head, and told him that if he did not confess he would never see the light of
day. Flores eventually gave a statement to the police indicating his involvement in
the crime. Flores’s statement was ruled inadmissible on appeal on the grounds that
it was elicited in violation of Miranda.

oo.

In 1997, Defendant Guevara coerced a false confession from Voytek Dembski by
beating him while chained to a wall in a locked interrogation room. Dembski, a

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Polish National who did not speak English, was interrogated by Guevara without
Miranda warnings, without notification to the Polish consulate, and without a
Polish language interpreter. Dembski could not read the statement he eventually
signed as it was written in English.
pp.

In 1998, Defendant Guevara repeatedly hit Rosauro Mejia in an attempt to coerce
a confession from him. Mejia never confessed and was finally released after being
held in custody for three days.

qq.

In 1998, Defendant Guevara repeatedly pulled Adriana Mejia’s hair and struck her
once on the back of her neck while she was interrogated.

rr.

In 1998, Defendant Guevara repeatedly threatened and beat Arturo Reyes in an
attempt to unconstitutionally coerce Reyes into giving an incriminating statement.
After two days of isolation and interrogation, Reyes provided a false statement.

ss.

In 1998, Defendant Guevara repeatedly struck Gabriel Solache on the left side of
his head and in the stomach while Solache was chained to the wall of a locked
interrogation room. After 40 hours of interrogation, Solache gave a false statement
so the beating would stop. Solache sought medical treatment and sustained
permanent hearing loss to his left ear.
Plaintiff’s Exoneration

105.

The allegations of Defendant Guevara’s abuses became so ubiquitous that the

City of Chicago commissioned Sidley Austin to conduct an independent investigation into this
case and others, to evaluate the credibility of the allegations. After a thorough examination of
witnesses and evidence, on February 2, 2015, the investigation yielded a detailed, 58-page report,
known as “the Lassar Report.”

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106.

The Lassar Report found that neither Vincente nor Rankins provided any

verifiable information about the crime that was not previously known to law enforcement. The
Report concluded, “Looking at all the evidence, we conclude that Montanez and Serrano are
more likely than not actually innocent.”
107.

The City also determined that Robert Bouto, Gabriel Solache, and Arturo Reyes

(men who were convicted of murder based on investigations conducted by Guevara) were all
also wrongfully convicted.
108.

Plaintiff never stopped fighting to prove his innocence. On June 7, 2016, the

Illinois Appellate Court reversed dismissal of his post-conviction petition. On November 2,
2016, the State moved to vacate Plaintiff’s convictions and dismiss all charges against him, and
the court granted that request. The court granted Plaintiff a Certificate of Innocence on
November 2, 2016.
Plaintiff’s Devastating Injuries
109.

During his twenty-three years of wrongful imprisonment, Plaintiff was deprived

of the ability to interact freely with his loved ones; to be present for holidays, births, deaths and
other life events; to pursue his passions and interests; to engage in meaningful labor and develop
a career; and to live freely, as an autonomous being.
110.

Instead, Plaintiff was detained in harsh, dangerous, and isolating conditions in

maximum security prisons. He was branded a murderer.
111.

As a result of his wrongful conviction and incarceration, Plaintiff must now

attempt to rebuild his life outside of prison, all without the benefit of the life experiences that
ordinarily equip adults for such a task.

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112.

In addition to causing the severe trauma of Plaintiff’s wrongful imprisonment and

loss of liberty, Defendants’ misconduct caused and continues to cause Plaintiff extreme physical
and psychological pain and suffering, humiliation, constant fear, anxiety, deep depression,
despair, rage, and other physical and psychological effects.
COUNT I – 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Due Process: Fabrication of Evidence
113.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this Complaint as if fully restated here.

114.

As described more fully above, Defendants, while acting individually, jointly, and

in conspiracy with one another, as well as under color of law and within the scope of their
employment, deprived Plaintiff of his constitutional right to a fair trial by fabricating Vincente’s
and Rankins’ testimonial inculpation of Plaintiff, as well as other evidence.
115.

In the manner described more fully above, Defendants fabricated, coerced,

manipulated and/or solicited false testimony from Vincente, Rankins, and Wilda Vargas
implicating Plaintiff in the crime that they knew he did not commit; falsified police reports;
obtained Plaintiff’s conviction using that false evidence; and failed to correct fabricated evidence
that they knew to be false when it was used against Plaintiff at his criminal trial.
116.

Defendants’ misconduct resulted directly in the unjust criminal conviction of

Plaintiff, thereby denying his constitutional right to a fair trial guaranteed by the Fourteenth
Amendment. Absent this misconduct, Plaintiff’s prosecution could not and would not have been
pursued.
117.

The misconduct described in this Count was objectively unreasonable and was

undertaken intentionally, with malice, with reckless indifference to the rights of others, and in
total disregard of the truth and Plaintiff’s clear innocence.

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118.

As a result of Defendants’ misconduct described in this Count, Plaintiff suffered

loss of liberty, great mental anguish, humiliation, degradation, emotional pain and suffering, and
other grievous and continuing injuries and damages.
119.

The misconduct described in this Count by the Defendant Officers was

undertaken pursuant to the policy and practice of the Chicago Police Department, in the manner
more fully described below, in Count VI.
COUNT II – 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Due Process: Brady Violations
120.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this Complaint as if fully restated here.

121.

As described in detail above, the Defendant Officers, while acting individually,

jointly, and in conspiracy with one another, as well as under color of law and within the scope of
their employment, deprived Plaintiff of his constitutional right to a fair trial by withholding and
suppressing exculpatory evidence. In the manner described more fully above, the Defendant
Officers deliberately withheld exculpatory evidence from Plaintiff and from the prosecution,
among others, thereby misleading and misdirecting the criminal prosecution of Plaintiff.
122.

In addition, in the manner described more fully above, the Defendant Officers

knowingly fabricated and solicited false evidence implicating Plaintiff in the crime; obtained
Plaintiff’s conviction using that false evidence; and failed to correct fabricated evidence that they
knew to be false when it was used against Plaintiff at his criminal trial.
123.

The Defendant Officers’ misconduct resulted directly in the unjust criminal

conviction of Plaintiff, thereby denying his constitutional right to a fair trial guaranteed by the
Fourteenth Amendment. Absent this misconduct, the prosecution of Plaintiff could not and
would not have been pursued.

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124.

The misconduct described in this Count was objectively unreasonable and was

undertaken intentionally, with malice, with reckless indifference to the rights of others, and in
total disregard of the truth and Plaintiff’s clear innocence.
125.

As a result of the Defendant Officers’ misconduct described in this Count,

Plaintiff suffered loss of liberty, great mental anguish, humiliation, degradation, emotional pain
and suffering, and other grievous and continuing injuries and damages.
126.

The misconduct described in this Count by was undertaken pursuant to the policy

and practice of the Chicago Police Department, in the manner more fully described below in
Count VI.
COUNT III – 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Malicious Prosecution
127.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this Complaint as if fully restated here.

128.

In the manner described more fully above, the Defendant Officers individually,

jointly, and in conspiracy with one another, as well as under color of law and within the scope of
their employment, deprived Plaintiff of his constitutional rights.
129.

The Defendant Officers accused Plaintiff of criminal activity and exerted

influence to initiate, continue, and perpetuate judicial proceedings against Plaintiff without any
probable cause for doing so, in violation of his rights secured by the Fourth Amendment and the
procedural and substantive due process components of the Fourteenth Amendment.
130.

In so doing, the Defendant Officers caused Plaintiff to be unreasonably seized and

improperly subjected to judicial proceedings for which there was no probable cause. These
judicial proceedings were instituted and continued maliciously, resulting in injury.
131.

The Defendant Officers subjected Plaintiff to unauthorized and arbitrary

governmental action that shocks the conscience in that Plaintiff was deliberately and

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intentionally framed for a crime of which he was totally innocent, through the Defendant
Officers’ fabrication, suppression, and withholding of evidence.
132.

As a result of the misconduct of the Defendant Officers described in this Count,

Plaintiff suffered loss of liberty, great mental anguish, humiliation, degradation, emotional pain
and suffering, and other grievous and continuing injuries and damages.
133.

The misconduct described in this Count by the Defendant Officers was

undertaken pursuant to the policy and practice of the Chicago Police Department, in the manner
more fully described below in Count VI.
COUNT IV – 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Conspiracy to Deprive Constitutional Rights
134.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this complaint as if fully restated here.

135.

Defendants, acting in concert with other co-conspirators, known and unknown,

reached an agreement among themselves to frame Plaintiff for a crime he did not commit and
deprive him of his constitutional rights by maliciously causing Plaintiff’s prosecution, by
fabricating evidence that would be used to convict Plaintiff; and by withholding exculpatory
information from Plaintiff’s defense and the prosecution, as described above.
136.

In so doing, these co-conspirators conspired to accomplish an unlawful purpose

by an unlawful means. In addition, these co-conspirators agreed among themselves to protect one
another from liability for depriving Plaintiff of these rights.
137.

In furtherance of their conspiracy, each of these co-conspirators committed overt

acts and were otherwise willful participants in joint activity.
138.

The misconduct described in this count was objectively unreasonable and was

undertaken intentionally, with malice, with reckless indifference to the rights of others, and in
total disregard of the truth and Plaintiff’s clear innocence.

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139.

As a result of Defendants’ misconduct described in this count, Plaintiff suffered

loss of liberty, great mental anguish, humiliation, degradation, emotional pain and suffering, and
other grievous and continuing injuries and damages.
COUNT V – 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Failure to Intervene
140.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this Complaint as if fully restated here.

141.

During the constitutional violations described herein, one or more of the

Defendants stood by without intervening to prevent the violation of Plaintiff’s constitutional
rights, even though they had the opportunity to do so.
142.

The misconduct described in this Count was objectively unreasonable and was

undertaken intentionally, with malice, with reckless indifference to the rights of others, and in
total disregard of the truth and Plaintiff’s innocence.
143.

As a result of the Defendants’ failure to intervene to prevent the violation of

Plaintiff’s constitutional rights, Plaintiff suffered loss of liberty, great mental anguish,
humiliation, degradation, emotional pain and suffering, and other grievous and continuing
injuries and damages.
144.

The misconduct described in this Count by Defendant Officers was undertaken

pursuant to the policy and practice of the Chicago Police Department, in the manner more fully
described below in Count VI.
COUNT VI – 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Municipal Liability
145.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this Complaint as if fully restated here.

146.

As described more fully herein, the City of Chicago is itself liable for the

violation of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights. Plaintiff’s injuries were caused by the policies,

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practices, and customs of the Chicago Police Department, in that employees and agents of the
Chicago Police Department, including Defendants in particular, regularly failed to disclose
exculpatory evidence to criminal defendants, fabricated false evidence implicating criminal
defendants in criminal conduct, pursued wrongful convictions through profoundly flawed
investigations, and otherwise violated due process in a similar manner to that alleged herein.
147.

This institutional desire to close cases through abusive tactics regardless of actual

guilt or innocence, in order to enhance police officers’ personal standing in the Department, was
known to the command personnel, who themselves participated in the practice.
148.

The above-described widespread practices, which were so well-settled as to

constitute the de facto policy of the Chicago Police Department, were allowed to exist because
municipal policymakers with authority over the same exhibited deliberate indifference to the
problem, thereby effectively ratifying it. Furthermore, the above-described widespread practices
were allowed to flourish because the Chicago Police Department declined to implement
sufficient training or any legitimate mechanism for oversight or punishment of officers and
agents who withheld material evidence, fabricated false evidence and witness testimony, and
pursued wrongful convictions.
149.

The constitutional violations described in this Complaint were also undertaken

pursuant to the policy and practices of the Chicago Police Department in that the constitutional
violations were committed with the knowledge or approval of persons with final policymaking
authority for City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department.
150.

Chicago police officers who manufactured criminal cases against individuals such

as Plaintiff had every reason to know that they not only enjoyed de facto immunity from criminal
prosecution and/or Departmental discipline, but that they also stood to be rewarded for closing

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cases no matter what the costs. In this way, this system proximately caused abuses, such as the
misconduct at issue in this case.
151.

The policies, practices, and customs set forth above were the moving force behind

the numerous constitutional violations in this case and directly and proximately caused Plaintiff
to suffer the grievous and permanent injuries and damages set forth above.
COUNT VII – State Law Claim
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
152.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this Complaint as if fully restated here.

153.

In the manner described more fully above, Defendants engaged in extreme and

outrageous conduct.
154.

The Defendants either intended that their conduct would cause severe emotional

distress to Plaintiff or knew that there was a high probability that their conduct would cause
severe emotional distress to Plaintiff.
155.

The misconduct described in this Count was undertaken with malice, willfulness,

and reckless indifference to the rights of others.
156.

As a proximate result of this misconduct, undertaken within the scope of

Defendants’ employment, Plaintiff suffered injuries, including but not limited to severe
emotional distress.
Count VIII – State Law Claim
Malicious Prosecution
157.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this Complaint as if fully restated here.

158.

All of the individual Defendants caused Plaintiff to be improperly subjected to

judicial proceedings for which there was no probable cause. These judicial proceedings were

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instituted and continued with malice and resulted in injury to Plaintiff. All such proceedings
were ultimately terminated in Plaintiff’s favor in a manner indicative of innocence.
159.

The Defendants accused Plaintiff of murdering Rodrigo Vargas, knowing that he

was innocent of the crime. All of the individual Defendants fabricated evidence, manipulated the
only witnesses and withheld material exculpatory evidence. The law enforcement officer
Defendants knowingly made false statements to prosecutors with the intent of exerting influence
to institute and continue judicial proceedings against Plaintiff.
160.

The misconduct described in this Count was undertaken with malice, willfulness,

and reckless indifference to Plaintiff’s rights.
161.

As a direct and proximate result of this misconduct, undertaken within the scope

of Defendants’ employment, Plaintiff suffered injuries, including, but not limited to, emotional
distress, as is more fully alleged above.
Count IX – State Law Claim
Respondeat Superior
162.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this Complaint as if fully restated here.

163.

In committing the acts alleged in the preceding paragraphs, the Defendant

Officers were members and agents of the Chicago Police Department acting at all relevant times
within the scope of their employment.
164.

Defendant City of Chicago is liable as principal for all torts committed by its

165.

In committing the acts alleged in the preceding paragraphs, Defendants Coughlin

agents.

and Dillon were members of, and agents of, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, acting at
all relevant times within the scope of their employment and under color of law.
166.

Defendant Cook County is liable as principal for all torts committed by its agents.

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COUNT VI – State Law Claim
Civil Conspiracy
167.

Plaintiff repeats and re-alleges all of the paragraphs in this Complaint as if fully

set forth herein.
168.

As described more fully in the preceding paragraphs, each of the individual

Defendants acting in concert with one another and other co-conspirators, known and unknown,
conspired to accomplish an unlawful purpose by unlawful means.
169.

In furtherance of the conspiracy, the Defendants each committed overt acts and

were otherwise willing participants in joint activity.
170.

The misconduct described in this Count was undertaken with malice, willfulness

and reckless indifference to Plaintiff’s rights.
171.

As a direct and proximate result of this misconduct, Plaintiff suffered injuries,

including, but not limited to, emotional distress, as is more fully alleged above.
Count XI – State Law Claim
Indemnification
172.

Plaintiff incorporates each paragraph of this Complaint as if fully restated here.

173.

Illinois law provides that public entities are directed to pay any tort judgment for

compensatory damages for which employees are liable within the scope of their employment
activities.
174.

The Defendant Officers are or were employees of the Chicago Police Department

who acted within the scope of their employment in committing the misconduct described above.
175.

The City is liable to indemnify any compensatory judgment awarded against the

Defendant Officers.

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176.

Defendant Cook County was at all times material to this complaint the employer

of Defendants Coughlin and Dillon, and is therefore responsible for any judgment entered
against Defendants Coughlin and Dillon and for any judgment entered against him during said
employment with the County, making the County a necessary party to this complaint.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, JOSE MONTANEZ, respectfully requests that this Court enter
judgment in his favor and against Defendants, CITY OF CHICAGO, CHICAGO POLICE
OFFICERS REYNALDO GUEVARA, ERNEST HALVORSEN, EDWARD MINGEY, AND
UNKNOWN OFFICERS, and former Assistant State’s Attorneys MATTHEW COGHLAN and
JOHN DILLON, and COOK COUNTY, awarding compensatory damages, costs, and attorneys’
fees, as well as any other relief this Court deems just and appropriate.
JURY DEMAND
Plaintiff, JOSE MONTANEZ, hereby demands a trial by jury pursuant to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 38(b) on all issues so triable.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
s/ Russell Ainsworth
Attorney for Jose Montanez
Arthur Loevy
Jon Loevy
Russell Ainsworth
Debra Loevy
Ruth Brown
LOEVY & LOEVY
311 North Aberdeen Street
3rd floor
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 243-5900

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