CHICAGO — Two years after launching a review of convictions connected to discredited former Chicago police Detective Reynaldo Guevara, Cook County prosecutors on Monday agreed to dismiss charges in one Guevara-related case.
The decision came as a reversal for prosecutors, who earlier this month filed paperwork saying they did not believe Daniel Rodriguez could prove his claims that he was framed for a 1991 murder.
Rodriguez and his attorneys accused Guevara of beating him into confessing to the shooting; in addition, they contend that the mother of a key prosecution witness was in a sexual relationship with Guevara. That witness, Jason Rivera, was under further pressure to lie since he was an uncharged co-conspirator in a different homicide, attorneys alleged.
Dozens of people have accused Guevara, now retired, of manipulating witnesses, fabricating evidence and framing suspects over the course of his career. He has repeatedly asserted his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent when questioned about the alleged wrongdoing.
Rodriguez’s supporters broke out into applause Monday as Judge Sophia Atcherson formally threw out the conviction and Assistant State’s Attorney Carol Rogala dropped the charges. Rodriguez walked out of the courtroom wiping away tears from under his face mask.
“I’m super happy,” he told reporters after the hearing. “I’m still in a daze, I still can’t believe it. After 31 years, it’s long overdue.”
Prosecutors did not explain in court the reason for changing their position in the Rodriguez case. A spokesperson for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rodriguez was sentenced in 1993 to 25 years in prison; he was released after serving 13. It was a “long journey” for his family, he said, including his wife and two now-adult daughters.
“They grew up in a visiting room. Birthday parties and everything was in the visiting room. So … it’s a big win for me but it’s bigger for them,” he said. “You know, our family is celebrating today but there’s another family that got hurt today. There was a victim in this case that didn’t have justice. His family was told that they had justice, but they didn’t, so now they live with that pain again.”
Rodriguez and his attorneys contended that the mother of Jason Rivera, a key prosecution witness, was in a sexual relationship with Guevara. The woman has since died of COVID-19, court filings show. Before the case was dismissed, Rodriguez’s attorneys had requested Guevara be ordered to appear at a hearing by video to be questioned about the relationship.
Rodriguez’s attorneys also argued that Rivera was under pressure since he was an uncharged co-conspirator in a separate murder case, and that prosecutors paid Rivera relocation money before and after his testimony, unbeknownst to Rodriguez. Prosecutors disputed the allegations in an April 1 court filing.
Rodriguez has claimed for decades that Guevara and his partner coerced him into confessing, an early allegation that his attorney Anand Swaminathan likened to the proverbial “canary in the coal mine.”
“For 31 years, this man has been saying ‘I’m innocent’ … and nobody listened,” Swaminathan told reporters. “He finally got that moment today.”
Foxx has often said that throwing out wrongful convictions is key to earning back the trust of communities whose residents have traditionally been reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement. The office in 2020 promised a comprehensive review of Guevara-related cases. The office conducted a similar review of cases connected to convicted ex-Sgt. Ronald Watts that has resulted in a long series of mass exonerations. But after two years, Guevara-related cases have seen no similar cascade of dismissals.
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