Judge tosses eight more convictions linked to disgraced former CPD Sgt. Ronald Watts
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Cook County judge has thrown out eight more convictions tied to corrupt former Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts, who has been accused of routinely framing people at the former Ida B. Wells public housing complex.
Cook County prosecutors moved to vacate the latest cases on Monday, bringing the total number of convictions tied to Watts that have been thrown out to at least 220.
"Vacating these convictions provides just a fraction of relief for those who spent time in prison, away from their families, and we will never be able to give them that time back. We will continue to review these cases as we seek justice for all his victims," Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx said in a statement. "I'm grateful for the attorneys in this office who continue to seek justice, restore trust, and address the historic inequities of Cook County's criminal justice system," Foxx continued.
In April, a judge threw out 44 other convictions linked to Watts and his team of officers.
Watts resigned from the force before pleading guilty in 2012 to stealing from a homeless man who posed as a drug dealer as part of an undercover FBI sting. He admitted to regularly extorting money from drug dealers, and was sentenced to 22 months in prison. He has been accused of frequently planting evidence and fabricating charges.
Dozens of men and women have said Watts and his team terrorized them in or near the former Ida B. Wells housing project in Bronzeville between 2003 and 2008. Watts and his officers have been accused of planting drugs on suspects and falsifying police reports.
Prosecutors have said Watts and the officers under his command time and again planted evidence and fabricated charges in order to further their own gun and drug trade.
In some cases, Watts' victims refused to pay him money or did something that angered him; in others, there appears to be no reason for why he targeted them.
Foxx's office has vacated a total of 220 Watts-related cases since she took office in 2016. The office vacated 26 cases in 2017, 38 in 2018, 17 in 2019, 19 in 2020, 14 in 2021, and a total of 106 so far this year alone.