SUMMARY

On July 20, 2016, Armando Serrano and Jose Montanez were exonerated when the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges against them in the interest of justice. Both men were released from prison more than 23 years after they were falsely arrested for a murder they did not commit. Their exoneration came following an investigation of the case by the Bonjean Law Group.

The case dated back to 1993, when both men were wrongfully implicated in the murder of Rodrigo Vargas through coerced statements and false testimony obtained by disgraced Chicago detective Reynaldo Guevara. Despite unreliable witnesses, no physical evidence, and testimony later proven to be fabricated, Serrano and Montanez were convicted and each sentenced to 55 years in prison.

Years of investigative work by the Medill Innocence Project and later the Bonjean Law Group uncovered extensive misconduct, including coerced witness statements, fabricated identifications, and false testimony. Multiple witnesses later recanted, detailing how police beat them and offered favors in exchange for false statements. In 2015, an independent review found the men were “more likely than not actually innocent.”

In June 2016, the Illinois Appellate Court vacated their convictions, calling the misconduct “profoundly alarming.” The following month, charges were dismissed, and both men were declared innocent. They later received state compensation, certificates of innocence, and in 2021 the city of Chicago agreed to pay Serrano and Montanez $20.5 million to settle their wrongful conviction lawsuit.