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Friday, April 26, 2024

T.J. Jimenez

Thaddeus “T.J.” Jimenez was arrested for murder when he was 13. He spent 16 years behind bars until a judge ruled that he’d been wrongfully convicted. He was freed and awarded $25 million in compensation for his lost years. Then, T.J. became a self-appointed leader of a street gang.

Thaddeus “T.J.” Jimenez caught on a cellphone video shooting Earl Casteel in the legs on Aug. 17, 2015, in Irving Park. The video, which went viral, was shown during Jimenez’s trial in federal court.
T.J. Jimenez
Thaddeus ‘T.J.’ Jimenez, ‘Motive’ podcast subject, finally sentenced in viral video shooting
Jimenez won a $25 million wrongful-conviction verdict for a killing when he was 13, then lavished cash on his gang. After his 12-year term, “I think he wants to lead a normal life,” his lawyer says.
By Frank Main
 
News
How millionaire’s gang fantasy ‘blew up the West Side’
 
T.J. Jimenez
Man wins $25 million for wrongful conviction in 1993 slaying
 
T.J. Jimenez
Gang member loses $6M of wrongful-conviction windfall to shooting victim
 
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘T.J.’ Jimenez, ‘Motive’ podcast figure freed after wrongful conviction, wants feds to take custody of him
 
Chicago gangs
Ex-Chicago cop offers rare testimony for man whose double-murder conviction was then vacated
“I’ve never had an officer involved in the arrest and investigation of a client voluntarily testify they got the wrong guy,” Francisco Benitez’s lawyer said of former gang investigator Joe Sparks’ testimony.
By Frank Main
 
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ podcast figure killed girlfriend in apparent murder-suicide, Chicago police say
In what became a viral cellphone video, Earl Casteel was seen shot in the legs by Thaddeus ‘T.J.’ Jimenez in a bizarre case recounted in the 2019 Sun-Times/WBEZ podcast.
By Frank Main
 
Obituaries
After decades in solitary confinement, Brian Nelson got out, became an advocate for prisoners
Featured in the 2019 podcast ‘Motive,’ he was found dead Monday in his office at the Uptown People’s Law Center, where he worked for a decade and answered thousands of inmates’ letters.
By Frank Main
 
T.J. Jimenez
Thaddeus ‘T.J.’ Jimenez, subject of ‘Motive’ podcast, loses bid to drop charges in viral video shooting
He’d asked Illinois’ appeals court to toss the charges in the caught-on-video attack because he already was convicted of a federal gun charge stemming from the same shooting.
By Frank Main
 
T.J. Jimenez
Thaddeus ‘T.J.’ Jimenez, ‘Motive’ podcast figure who got millions for wrongful conviction, charged in jail fight
The Chicago gang figure was featured in the serial podcast last fall from the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ Chicago.
By Frank Main
 
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 10: Mother’s Day
As we conclude this story, we find some answers about what motivates T.J. Jimenez — from T.J. himself.
By Sun-Times
 
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 9: Batman
With millions of dollars in his pocket, T.J. invested in his old gang — and started a war on Chicago’s West Side.
By Sun-Times
 
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 8: T.J. v. The City of Chicago
T.J. and his attorney file a wrongful-conviction lawsuit against the City of Chicago, but how will living through the details of the trial affect T.J.?
By Sun-Times
 
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 7: Inmate K51114
At the age of 17, TJ walked into Stateville prison and had to grow up fast. Though he was later exonerated in 2009, his prison scars never quite healed.
By Sun-Times
 
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 6: Mousey is dead
T.J. spent 16 years in prison, going from a boy of 13 to a 30-year-old man. What impact did prison have on him? The latest episode of “Motive” looks at the worst of what prison can do to you. Brian Nelson, a former leader of T.J.’s gang, explains.
By Sun-Times
 

It was a cruel sociological experiment: Lock up a 13-year-old boy for a murder he swore he didn’t commit. Release him as a 30-year-old man. Then give him $25 million.

In the podcast Motive by WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Frank Main explores the life of Thaddeus “T.J.” Jimenez and the ripple effects of his wrongful conviction, including his release and his decision to spend his new fortune on building a gang.

Thaddeus “T.J.” Jimenez as caught on a cellphone video on Aug. 17, 2015, on the Northwest Side. Shortly after posing here, the video caught Jimenez shooting Earl Casteel in the legs.
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive,’ episode 1: A shooting from a Mercedes
Meet Thaddeus “T.J.” Jimenez, a Chicago man who spent 16 years in prison for a murder he swore he didn’t commit. With $25 million from a wrongful-conviction lawsuit, T.J. bought a gang. “Motive” is his story.
By Sun-Times
 
Victoria Jimenez, mother of Thaddeus ‘T.J.’ Jimenez.
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 2: Violated into the PeeWees
T.J. Jimenez’s mother Victoria says she did her best to keep her son out of gangs. In this episode of ‘Motive,’ we learn about what he was like as a kid.
By Sun-Times
 
Sign outside the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 3: A boy enters and a man leaves
After he’s arrested, T.J. is sent to a juvenile detention center in Chicago. In Episode 3 of “Motive,” those who knew T.J. when he was in juvie speak out.
By Sun-Times
 
Honey_Baked_Ham.jpg
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 4: What really happened at the Honey Baked Ham
In February 1993, Eric Morro was shot outside a Honey Baked Ham store in Avondale. In this episode of “Motive,” T.J.’s old friend Larry Tueffel takes Frank Main back to the crime scene to tell him how it all really happened.
By Sun-Times
 
Thaddeus Jimenez, 30, sits with his mom Victoria Jimenez
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 5: The Fairytale Ending
On May 1, 2009, T.J. became a free man. He won his $25-million lawsuit against the city, found a girlfriend and had two kids. But trouble seemed to find T.J. wherever he went.
By Sun-Times
 
Brian Nelson’s arrest photo
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 6: Mousey is dead
T.J. spent 16 years in prison, going from a boy of 13 to a 30-year-old man. What impact did prison have on him? The latest episode of “Motive” looks at the worst of what prison can do to you. Brian Nelson, a former leader of T.J.’s gang, explains.
By Sun-Times
 
T.J. Jimenez flashes the Simon City Royals gang sign.
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 7: Inmate K51114
At the age of 17, TJ walked into Stateville prison and had to grow up fast. Though he was later exonerated in 2009, his prison scars never quite healed.
By Sun-Times
 
Attorney Jon Loevy.
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 8: T.J. v. The City of Chicago
T.J. and his attorney file a wrongful-conviction lawsuit against the City of Chicago, but how will living through the details of the trial affect T.J.?
By Sun-Times
 
Bullet-riddled Pontiac
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 9: Batman
With millions of dollars in his pocket, T.J. invested in his old gang — and started a war on Chicago’s West Side.
By Sun-Times
 
T.J. Jimenez
‘Motive’ Podcast
‘Motive’ Episode 10: Mother’s Day
As we conclude this story, we find some answers about what motivates T.J. Jimenez — from T.J. himself.
By Sun-Times