Bail was denied Thursday for a Marine Corps veteran charged with killing Kenneth Paterimos last month, after Cook County prosecutors painted a more complicated picture than had previously emerged of the events that led to the stabbing outside Richard’s Bar in West Town.
Thomas Tansey, 30, appeared in court Thursday for the first time since Paterimos was stabbed outside the bar at 491 N. Milwaukee Ave. on Feb. 21, and law enforcement officials, for the first time, laid out what they believed happened that night that led to the death of the 23-year-old barista.
The two men were both at the bar when they got into a fight, prosecutors said.
It was unclear who started the fight, but prosecutors described Tansey, who was at the bar by himself, as being “severely intoxicated” and bumping into people. The two men exchanged punches and fell to the floor before they were separated and Tansey was removed from the bar, prosecutors said.
Paterimos’ family members have said Tansey allegedly directed homophobic and racist slurs toward Paterimos at that time, but Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said after the hearing that prosecutors have “no evidence whatsoever” that Tansey used any slurs. He did say that Tansey allegedly threatened to rip out Paterimos’ nose ring.
Tansey was escorted from the bar through the Milwaukee Avenue exit and left alone, prosecutors said.
“Multiple witnesses saw that [Paterimos] was angry and that [his] friends were trying to calm him down” and told him to leave through a different exit, prosecutors said. A witness heard Paterimos make a comment that he planned to “go outside and kick [Tansey’s] ass,” according to prosecutors.
Paterimos ultimately also left through the Milwaukee Avenue exit, followed by a friend.
A pair of witnesses — employees at adjacent taverns who were outside smoking cigarettes — then saw Paterimos and his friend follow and confront Tansey outside the bar, prosecutors said.
During an ensuing fist fight, Paterimos stood over Tansey and struck him multiple times as his friend watched, according to prosecutors. One of the witnesses who had been smoking moved closer to the fight and saw Paterimos’ friend grab him in “a bear hug” and pull Paterimos away from Tansey, causing Paterimos and his friend to fall to the ground, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said it was not immediately clear if Paterimos was stabbed while on top of Tansey and punching him, or when his friend pulled him off and they fell next to Tansey, but Paterimos then got up and returned to the bar while holding his arm as blood squirted from it while Tansey chased after him.
Paterimos’ friend, who could potentially clarify when the stabbing occurred, has said he has “no memory of what happened outside the bar,” prosecutors said.
Paterimos suffered stab wounds to the back of his head, right clavicle, middle back and right arm, which severed an artery and ultimately proved fatal, prosecutors said.
Paterimos collapsed on the floor at the bar. His brother, Santiago Bueno, then ran outside and disarmed and detained Tansey for police, prosecutors said. A bloody knife was recovered at the scene.
There were no surveillance cameras inside or outside Richard’s Bar that captured the stabbing, but a police POD camera recorded Tansey allegedly chasing Paterimos back to the bar and matched a blood trail found at the scene,
That cast doubt on a claim he initially made to police that he was acting in self-defense, prosecutors said. Police released him after initially arresting him at the scene and holding him for 48 hours, but said they were continuing to investigate.
“The actions of [Tansey] are not those of someone who had acted in self-defense.” Murphy said after the hearing.
Paterimos’ family said they have been frustrated with authorities’ decision to initially release Tansey without charges and have been critical of the interactions they’ve had with Chicago police detectives.
“Anyone else [police] would have been kicking in doors, but this is a white guy,” Cruzito Bueno, another brother of Paterimos, said in an interview Wednesday night. “They gave him the opportunity to come up with an alibi.”
The two witnesses from adjacent bars, however, only came forward after Tansey’s initial release, prosecutors said. Workers at Richard’s Bar have declined to comment to the media.
A warrant for Tansey’s arrest was issued last week and he was taken into custody Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder.
Tansey arrested after leaving hospital
Sources told the Sun-Times that Tansey had been checked into a hospital for a mental health evaluation after he was initially released from custody and police were waiting for him to be discharged before taking him into custody Wednesday.
Tansey’s private attorney, Sam Amirante, confirmed that in court Thursday, saying Tansey had been hospitalized since the incident and said Tansey had kept in touch with authorities through his attorneys.
Amirante said Tansey “saw some horrible things happen,” while serving in Afghanistan, which left him with trauma, which was aggravated during the fight.
Tansey, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, has previously been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder as a result of his military experiences, according to a letter included in a court filing for a battery case that Tansey pleaded guilty to in 2017.
That charge stemmed from an incident in December 2016, when Tansey tried to hit another man with a .22-caliber pistol and shoved the man to the ground in Arlington Heights.
Amirante said there has been “total cooperation” by Tansey, who was attacked by two people and said the facts supported Tansey’s claim of self-defense.
“What most bothers me regarding this ... is the location of the stab wounds,” Judge Charles Beach said. “Those stab wounds all being to the back.”
Beach also said Tansey’s history of battery with the use of a weapon was concerning and said Tansey will be held without bail “at this time.”
Following the hearing, Amirante said Tansey “was simply defending himself.”
“He’s remorseful about what happened here,” Amirante said. “It’s a very sad thing for both families, it is certainly very traumatic for both families, but we will get this case to trial as quickly as we can.”
Family members of Paterimos who attended the hearing declined to comment.
Paterimos’ brother, Cruzito Bueno, said in a text message that the family was happy that Tansey was ordered held without bail, saying “it’s as good as it can get for right now.”
