SUMMARY

On July 28, 2001, 12-year-old Francisco Macias was killed while hanging out with friends in Chicago. The shooter was described as a Hispanic male with a teardrop tattoo under his right eye. Initially, police relied on the testimony of 11-year-old Edgar Jimenez and information from confidential informant Fabian Gomez to identify Francisco Romero and Michael Samanta as the perpetrators. Romero was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to 65 years; Samanta was convicted later that year and sentenced to 25 years.

Subsequent investigations revealed significant problems with the case. Jimenez’s eyewitness identification was inconsistent and influenced by his gang affiliations, while Gomez had a history of providing unreliable information under police pressure. Additional affidavits and expert testimony showed that Romero’s teardrop tattoo placement and other physical characteristics did not match the shooter, and that the original identification procedures were highly suggestive.

After a post-conviction hearing, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Carol Howard vacated the convictions in July 2023, citing the unreliability of the evidence used to convict Romero and Samanta. The prosecution dismissed the charges, and both men were released, with Romero placed on electronic monitoring and Samanta released on bond.