In 2012, the Chicago Police Department vowed to catch a cop’s killers. Now those cases are falling apart
CHICAGO — There was a moment of thunderous applause at the January 2012 funeral for slain Chicago police Officer Clifton Lewis.
Former Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy vowed before crowds of police officers and other mourners at United Missionary Baptist Church to bring Lewis’ killers to justice. His promise drew loud claps at the otherwise solemn ceremony.
McCarthy’s pledge seemed to come true in short order. Two days later, two of the three men who would ultimately be charged were held without bail in the Dec. 29, 2011, fatal attack on Lewis during a botched robbery at a West Side convenience store. The third suspect was charged nearly two years later, in November 2013.
But after more than a decade, justice appears elusive.
The case has been dogged by allegations of police and prosecutorial misconduct. Defense attorneys have accused police officers of coercing confessions and prosecutors of hiding evidence. The three men accused in the case, Alexander Villa, Tyrone Clay and Edgardo Colon, maintain their innocence.
“My heart goes out to the family,” said Lovetta Maxwell, Clay’s mother. “Justice is not being served.”
The case has grown more contentious in recent months amid a protracted fight over evidence production and calls from the defense to hold police and prosecutors in contempt of court. A judge overseeing two of the cases has increasingly voiced consternation as one of the defendants, Clay, has spent more than 10 years awaiting trial.
A spokesperson for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim
