CHICAGO _ The controversy surrounding former Chicago police detective Reynaldo Guevara heated up Monday as one man who claimed he was framed for a murder won a new trial and another filed a federal wrongful conviction lawsuit alleging Guevara fabricated evidence against him in a 1995 gang-related slaying.
Both cases involved suspects who alleged Guevara manipulated lineups and other witness identifications to finger them for killings that they did not commit.
They're the latest among a growing number of cases accusing Guevara of running a widespread corruption racket in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods on the West and Northwest sides, pinning false murder cases on suspects, beating confessions out of defendants, shaking down drug dealers for protection money and even taking payments from gang members to change the outcomes of police lineups.
In his lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Thomas Sierra accused Guevara of fabricating a story about having seen Sierra riding in a Buick three days before a similar vehicle was used in the drive-by shooting of Noel Andujar in the 2600 block of North Kedzie Avenue.
Having "decided on a suspect," Guevara then improperly steered witnesses to identify Sierra as the gunman, including pointing to Sierra's photo and telling them "he was the person responsible for the crime," the 43-page suit alleged.
"When they conducted these identification procedures, (Guevara and his fellow detectives) had no intention of accurately identifying the Andujar shooter," the lawsuit said. "Instead, they rigged the identification procedures with the sole purpose of framing (Sierra)."
Sierra spent more than 22 years in prison before his case was dropped in January.
Also Monday, Cook County prosecutors announced at the Leighton Criminal Court Building that they had agreed to a new trial for Robert Bouto, who was convicted by a jury of the 1993 fatal shooting of Salvador Ruvalcaba near Roosevelt High School in Albany Park.
Two eyewitnesses who identified Bouto as the gunman at his 1996 trial later said police manipulated them into fingering Bouto. One witness said Guevara told him which person to pick out from a lineup and threatened that he would make life "very uncomfortable" if he did not cooperate, according to a court filing from Bouto's attorneys.
An inquiry into Guevara's cases conducted at the city's request by former U.S. Attorney Scott Lassar concluded that Bouto was likely innocent, along with a handful of others. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx vowed before taking office in 2016 that she would take a closer look at Bouto's case.
Bouto is expected back in court next month. However, his attorney is hopeful prosecutors will ultimately drop the charges against him altogether.
Bouto's conviction was the 11th linked to Guevara that has been tossed out since mid-2016. Meanwhile, Sierra's lawsuit brings the number of wrongful conviction suits against Guevara pending in federal court to eight. One of them, brought by Jacques Rivera, is scheduled for trial in June.
In addition to wrongdoing by Guevara, the lawsuits alleged that his corruption was aided at every step by others in the criminal justice system, from fellow cops to friendly prosecutors, judges and even defense attorneys who turned a blind eye to how Guevara went about his police work.
Guevara has repeatedly refused to testify when asked under oath about the allegations. When forced to take the stand last year in a case involving two men who accused him of abuse, he gave testimony so muddled that Judge James Obbish accused him of "bald-faced lies."
"(Guevara) has now eliminated the possibility of being considered a credible witness in any proceeding," Obbish said in December. "It's a troubling day."
Sierra was convicted by a jury of murder and later sentenced to 45 years in prison. He was released on parole in November after serving the required half of his term, records show.
In a hearing before Sierra's 1997 trial, one of the witnesses, Alberto Rodriguez, testified that detectives told him the gunman was "probably the guy in these pictures," then handed over photos for him to view, according to a filing from Sierra's attorneys.
Another witness, Jose Melendez, testified at trial that he identified Sierra as the gunman after Guevara "pointed to a picture and told him to pick that person," the filing alleged. Melendez said he had made the false identification because he was angry his friend had been fatally shot, according to the records.
Guevara and the other officers who testified at trial denied any misconduct.
Sierra had maintained his innocence throughout his time in prison and filed a petition for a new trial that gained traction as more and more allegations against Guevara were coming to light. When asked at a 2013 court hearing whether he had framed Sierra, Guevara refused to answer, instead invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself under oath, according to court records.
Weeks before the case had been slated for an evidentiary hearing, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the charges, saying they were unable to meet their burden of proving Sierra guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
"I served 22 { years for something I didn't do," Sierra, 41, told reporters on the day his case was dropped. "It's still, you know, unreal right now."
