Aug. 27--A reputed gang leader accused of using a whopping $25 million verdict for his wrongful murder conviction to pay bonuses to recruit new gang members has been hit with a federal gun charge a week after his arrest in a brazen daylight shooting on Chicago's Northwest Side.
Thaddeus Jimenez, 36, who prosecutors allege heads the Simon City Royals gang, was charged in an indictment made public Thursday with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.
Jimenez was arrested last week in the shooting of a former gang member who had refused Jimenez's recruitment efforts, Cook County authorities said. The federal charge alleges he wielded a .380-caliber pistol during the incident.
Jose Roman, a reputed gang member who allegedly was with Jimenez at the time of the shooting, was also charged in the indictment with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. The indictment alleges he was carrying a loaded .22-caliber Mossberg rifle.
Both men are being held without bond at the Cook County Jail and will be arraigned in federal court at a later date.
At a bond hearing last week, Cook County prosecutors charged that Jimenez shot a former Simon City Royals member, 33, who had "steadfastly refused" Jimenez's efforts to lure him back into the gang after he had been inactive for four years and moved away.
The victim was visiting a friend in the Albany Park neighborhood when he went outside to move his car in the 3500 block of Belle Plaines Avenue about 11:20 a.m. Aug. 17. Jimenez pulled up in a gray convertible 2013 Mercedes-Benz 500 Series with the top down, pulled out an "electric blue" semi-automatic handgun -- the Royals' gang color -- and pointed it at the man's head, said Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto.
"He said he should just shoot him right there," Scaduto said. Jimenez then shot him in both legs, shattering his thigh bones, she said. Jimenez, driving on a suspended license, sped away, Scaduto said. An unmarked police SUV in the area for an unrelated gang activity call began following the Mercedes, she said.
Jimenez ran a red light at Irving Park Road and Central Park Avenue, prompting police to activate the SUV's lights and sirens, Scaduto said. Jimenez crashed into a parked car on St. Louis Avenue and ran, dropping his .380-caliber handgun in a yard, she said. He was arrested in the 3800 block of North Elston Avenue.
Roman, who was carrying a Mossberg rifle loaded with 23 live rounds, also ran from police but was arrested nearby after tossing the rifle, Scaduto said.
Jimenez was an alleged gang member with a lengthy history of arrests when he was taken into custody at age 13 for fatally shooting an older teenager in 1993 on the Northwest Side. He was convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Jimenez spent more than 16 years in state prison before he was exonerated and released from custody in May 2009.
Prosecutors said in court that Jimenez was using a $25 million jury award from his wrongful conviction lawsuit to pay $50,000 recruitment bonuses along with guns and cars to bring new members into his gang.
jmeisner@tribpub.com
