After 23 Years’ Wrongful Imprisonment Caused by Chicago Police Misconduct, States’ Attorney Seeks Release of Innocent Men
Framed by Disgraced Detective in 1993 Humboldt Park Murder, Jose Montanez & Armando Serrano Have Always Maintained Their Innocence
CHICAGO, IL – Prosecutors will ask a Cook County Judge to vacate the convictions and dismiss all charges against two wrongfully convicted men. Jose Montanez (49), and Armando Serrano (44), at 9 AM tomorrow at the Cook County Courthouse, 2650 S. California Avenue, Room 101. Both men are expected to be released after 23 years of wrongful incarceration.
Press conference with Jose Montanez will be held at 311 N. Aberdeen Street, 3rd floor, Chicago, at 2:30 PM
At 2:30 PM tomorrow, Mr. Montanez and his attorney Russell Ainsworth of The Exoneration Project will speak at a press conference at 311 N. Aberdeen Street, 3rd floor, Chicago.
In February 1993, Montanez and Serrano were each sentenced to 55 years in the killing of Rodrigo Vargas. Both men have long proclaimed their innocence. Neither Montanez nor Serrano confessed to the killing, and there is no physical or eyewitness evidence linking either man to the crime.
At the request of the Emanuel administration, the Montanez-Serrano convictions were among the handful of cases reviewed by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office involving notorious Det. Reynaldo Guevara. Two previous Guevara murder cases also unraveled, and court records document numerous defendants who claim they were similarly railroaded by the Area 5 Detective, who is refusing to testify based on the Fifth Amendment on grounds that truthful answers may subject him to criminal charges. The Better Government Association reported in 2015 that the City has paid nearly $20 million to review, litigate, and settle Guevara-related misconduct cases.
The only evidence against Montanez and Serrano was manufactured by Guevara when he fed a heroin addict, Francisco Vicente, a false story implicating the two innocent men. “My false testimony was given as a result of threats, intimidation and physical abuse by Det. Reynaldo Guevara,” Vicente later testified via affidavit.
“This was no mistake; Detective Guevara framed these innocent men. We give credit to Anita Alvarez for recognizing this injustice and setting Jose Montanez and Armando Serrano free. Sadly, dozens more innocent Guevara victims remain incarcerated for crimes they didn’t commit. We will not rest until every single one of them is exonerated,” said Russell Ainsworth, Montanez’s attorney from The Exoneration Project.
Jose Montanez is represented by Russell Ainsworth of the Exoneration Project at the University of Chicago, and Armando Serrano is represented by Jennifer Bonjean.
exonerationproject.org I @exonerationproj facebook.com/exonerationlaw/
For more information, contact: The Exoneration Project at the University of Chicago
Russell Ainsworth, Attorney, 773-354-2712, russell@exonerationproject.org
Eva Nagao, Director, 312-505-8327, eva@exonerationproject.org
