‘Motive’ Podcast: Who’s Who

Thaddeus “T.J.” Jimenez is caught on a cellphone video on Aug. 17, 2015, on the Northwest Side. Shortly after, the video caught Jimenez shooting a man in the legs.

Thaddeus “T.J.” Jimenez

Thaddeus “T.J.” Jimenez

He was arrested for murder at age 13, freed at 30 when a judge found he was wrongfully convicted and got rich when he won a $25 million award in a lawsuit against the city of Chicago. But he spent a lot of his money on his old gang and went back to prison for shooting a guy in both legs. The question is, why?

---

Thaddeus “TJ” Jimenez and his mother, Victoria.

Victoria “Vicky” Jimenez

The mother of Thaddeus “T.J.” Jimenez, she spent 16 years trying to get her son out of prison for a murder she always said he didn’t commit. Vicky grew up on the Northwest Side of Chicago, the daughter of a Chicago firefighter and a mom who her kids called “Busha.” She was a longtime waitress.

---

Attorney Jon Loevy. | Ashlee Rezin / Sun-Times files

Jon Loevy

He’s a civil-rights attorney with some of the biggest courtroom victories in Chicago, including T.J.’s $25 million award in his wrongful conviction lawsuit.

---

Larry Tueffel.

Larry Tueffel

He was with his friend Eric Morro when he was shot to death next to a Honey Baked Ham store in 1993. Larry didn’t initially identify T.J. as the shooter, but he did after he was re-interviewed by the police on the following morning.

---

Journalist Maria Cardona.

Maria Cardona

She’s a freelance journalist who was a college student in downtown Chicago when she started reporting on strange activities she witnessed on the roof of a parking garage and wound up on the phone with T.J.

---

Attorney Andrew Hale.

Andrew Hale

He’s a litigator who’s become well-known for defending the city of Chicago against lawsuits against police officers for alleged misconduct.

---

Robert Tracy. | Sun-Times files

Robert Tracy

Robert Tracy was the chief of crime strategy for the Chicago Police Department in 2015 when T.J. was arrested for shooting a man in the legs.