A reputed gang leader who once won a $25 million judgment against the city appeared in custody Thursday morning in a federal courtroom.
Thaddeus “TJ” Jimenez, accused of shooting a man in the legs Aug. 17 in Albany Park, has also been charged with possessing a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol authorities say was used in the shooting. A co-defendant, Jose “Skeety” Roman, was also indicted on a federal charge of being a felon in possession of a .22-caliber Mossberg rifle.
Both men appeared Thursday in front of U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber and pleaded not guilty through their lawyers. A federal prosecutor told the judge they had been taken into custody that morning.
The judge scheduled a detention hearing for Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Cook County prosecutors say Jimenez sometimes lured gang recruits with up to $50,000, guns and cars. Jimenez, a leader of the Simon City Royals street gang, is accused of shooting a former gang member who refused to come back into the fold.
Jimenez was arrested for murder in 1993 when he was just 13. In 2009, his conviction was vacated after he spent 16 years in prison. He won a wrongful-conviction lawsuit against the city in 2012. Since he’s been out of prison, Jimenez, of Des Plaines, has been in and out of jail.
