After spending 17 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit, John Velez might soon see a $7.6 million settlement approved by Chicago's City Council. Accused of the 2001 killing of Anthony Hueneca in Little Village, Velez's conviction was based on testimony that has since been recanted. The proposed settlement follows a $2.4 million payment from Cook County earlier this year, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The story begins with Velez, who was 18 at the time, becoming a suspect in a gang-related investigation after being a victim of an unrelated crime. A detective took his picture and later showed it to two individuals who said a man had threatened them right before the fatal shooting, a misstep that would anchor Velez's fate to a crime scene he never attended. According to the WTTW News, Michael Bacardo, the detective in question, remains an active member of the Chicago Police, earning $102,000 annually.
The case against Velez included coerced testimony from his pregnant girlfriend, Christina Izquierdo, who later recanted her statement, claiming it was produced under duress by the police. The implication of gang retaliation constructed by the Chicago Police unraveled as the real circumstances surfaced, namely that Velez had been in Cicero at the time of the murder. Furthermore, the motive for the alleged gang revenge killing assumed by prosecutors was undercut when it was revealed that Velez's uncle was not a member of the Satan Disciples, but another gang entirely, as per WTTW News.
