Man who served 32 years for murders he didn't commit says disgraced CPD detective living free is 'not fair'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It has been three weeks since the largest mass-exoneration for murder in U.S. history – which was all connected to one man, retired Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara.
Prosecutors had determined seven cases had been irreparably tainted by the disgraced former Chicago Police detective. Cook County State's attorney Kim Foxx said her office supported vacating seven convictions, because evidence of Guevara's misconduct was all too clear, after her office has spent years reviewing claims he routinely framed suspects and manipulated evidence.
One convict who was exonerated was Alfredo "Freddy" Gonzalez, who spent 32 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit. Gonzalez talked with CBS 2's Marissa Perlman Thursday about his life as a free man.
It has not been an easy road for Gonzalez and his family, but they said they never lost faith he would walk out of jail as a free man. He did, and on Thursday, he returned to his Humboldt Park neighborhood for the first time since he was arrested there in August 1990.
Now 64, Gonzalez said being back in the old neighborhood made him nervous.
"I literally got picked up around here," he said.
Perlman joined Gonzalez as he returned to the intersection of Kedzie Avenue and Hirsch Street – the very same intersection where he was first arrested.
Gonzalez was picked up down the street from where he was living by two officers. He said the officers took him to Area Five Police Headquarters.
"They were calling for Guevara, and I already knew I was going to be in trouble," Gonzalez said.
He said was beaten.
When Gonzalez was arrested, he left four young kids behind – and wouldn't see life out of prison for 32 years.
It was just this month that he walked out of the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill – hugging his daughter, Maria Gonzalez, as he got outside. He also met his grandchildren – all 15 of them.
Gonzalez's daughter was just 4 years old when he was arrested. He calls her his "muñeca."
"I wasn't there to see my kids grow up," he said.
But since walking out prison, Gonzalez said he still is not comfortable being in big crowds. He is also learning to use an iPhone for the first time.
"He still has a lot of anxiety," added Gonzalez's daughter, Maria Gonzalez. "He doesn't feel comfortable in a lot of areas; doesn't feel safe; doesn't trust people – and we just need to have patience with him."
Gonzalez is also working on regaining his trust in law enforcement once again.
Gonzalez was one of the seven people released in one day because of the police detective who handled his case. Guevara is accused of coercing false confessions and manufacturing evidence – though he has never been charged with a crime.
Right now, Guevara is a free man, living in Texas – something with which Gonzalez told us he is going to have to live.
"My family basically didn't abandon me – never – and that's what kept me alive. You know you're innocent. You're locked up for something you didn't do," Gonzalez said. "It's painful. It still bothers me – because he's out there living his life. A lot of us are still locked up. That's not fair. I did almost 32 years because of him."
Gonzalez thinks about the years he lost.
"He took 32 years from me and my family," he said of Guevara. "What's going to happen with him? Why is he still out there?"
State's Attorney Foxx said her office is reviewing charges against Guevara, who is still receiving a Chicago Police pension and a Chicago Park District pension.
But Foxx said it is likely the statute of limitations has run out – making any kind of prosecution difficult.
An eighth case for which exoneration is under consideration is pending further court proceedings.
The CBS 2 Investigators have been covering some of the Guevara cases.
Jose Montanez and Armando Serrano are two of those who spent decades in prison for a 1993 murder they did not commit. Their convictions were later overturned on appeal, and they were released from prison in 2016.
"He destroyed families. It isn't right," Serrano said of Guevara in 2016.
Last month, two brothers who spent 25 years behind bars for murder were released after their cases were overturned. They have said Guevara framed them, and prosecutors have said they would not seek to try them again.
Days later, Eruby Abrego also was released from prison, after spending 23 years behind bars for a double murder he didn't commit.
There have now been a total of 24 vacated convictions tied to Guevara