Marine Corps veteran wanted on murder charge in fatal West Town stabbing as family demands ‘justice for Kenny’

A week after a Pilsen barista was stabbed to death by a man who allegedly had hurled homophobic slurs at him, an arrest warrant has been issued for a U.S. Marine Corps veteran in connection with the attack that happened outside a West Town bar, police said Saturday.

The no-bail warrant was issued Thursday by Judge Peggy Chiampas for 30-year-old Thomas Tansey on a charge of murder following the fatal stabbing Feb. 21 of Kenneth Paterimos, according to Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi and Cook County court records.

Tansey had not been taken into custody as of Saturday evening, Guglielmi said.

Tansey, of University Village, had been taken into custody at the scene of the late-night attack outside Richard’s Bar at 491 N. Milwaukee Ave., but he was later released without charges after claiming self-defense, police had said.

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Tansey is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who was previously convicted of battery, according to court records. In that case, Arlington Heights police reported that in December 2016 he was unlawfully carrying a .22-caliber Walther PPK pistol and tried to strike a man with it before taking the man to ground, causing lacerations to the man’s hand and knees.

Tansey was sentenced to probation in that case and ordered to attend counseling, according to court records.

‘A very kind-hearted and sweet young man’

Announcement of the warrant came as family and friends gathered on the West Side Saturday morning for Paterimos’ funeral.

At his funeral, Paterimos, 23, was described as a kind and compassionate, upbeat and fun-loving young member of a Mexican immigrant family, always ready to give of himself or try to help or cheer someone up.

“He loved dancing, and house music. And he always hung out with his family. He had a lot of family, a huge family,” his oldest brother, Julian Bueno, said at the service at Fountain Jordan Shepard Funeral Home, where many wore T-shirts with his photo and “Rest In Paradise, Kenny,” on the front, and “House music all night long,” on the back.

“He was continuing the house music style of Chicago, and he definitely loved his city. He’s one that I try to get him out of state on a trip, and he goes, ‘No, I’ll just go to a different side of the city I haven’t seen.’ He was: ‘Love your city. Love your people,’” his brother said.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Paterimos had most recently worked at Step Down Cafe in Pilsen, a job he enjoyed because it allowed him to meet and talk with new people, relatives said.

“Kenny was always a very kind-hearted and sweet young man. I’m sorry that his life was taken so soon. He was too young,” said a cousin speaking at the funeral, who identified herself only as Vanessa. She used to babysit him as a child.

“I believe in the Lord and I believe that things are going to come to light, and we are going to get justice for Kenny,” she said.

Authorities and Paterimos’ family said the ex-Marine who was questioned in the slaying had yelled racial and homophobic slurs at Paterimos during a fight inside the bar, before the older man was kicked out.

Paterimos left the bar soon after to go home, his family said, and was headed for a nearby Blue Line station when he was repeatedly stabbed in the neck and back down the street.

Paterimos returned to the bar and collapsed, leading his older brother to rush out the door and tackle the ex-Marine outside the bar until authorities arrived, family said.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Another cousin speaking at the funeral, who identified herself only as Aliyah, said of her cousin: “He had just this energy, this love. In a room full of people, he would just show up next to you and be like, ‘What’s up? Why are you being quiet? You holding out on me? What’s the matter? This and that.’ The older we got, the closer we got. Kenny was just everything to me. And that’s what I’m going to remember. He was my favorite ‘Hello.’”

Another brother, Cruzito Bueno, thanked the standing-room only crowd who came to support the family. “He really would have loved it, and my mom needs it,” he said.

“I know he’s up there, with his collar turned up, bragging that this special moment is just for him, but saying, why couldn’t they do it when he was here? He loved when people talked about him,” his brother said. “But meaningfully — not just like, he’s pretty and had good music, but the actual things he did for people. He loved to hear that you felt what he was trying to give to you, or what he was trying to do for you.”

Besides his two brothers, survivors include his mother, Diona Bueno; his father, Kenneth, Sr.; a third brother, Anthony Paterimos; and a sister, Dina Paterimos.