Marc Leclerc-Prosecutors drop case against third man in Chicago police officer’s death

2025-05-07 08:15:58source:Oliver James Montgomerycategory:Stocks

CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors dropped their case Wednesday against the last of three men accused of killing an off-duty Chicago police officer.

Officer Clifton Lewis,Marc Leclerc 41, was working his second job as a security officer at a convenience store when he was killed trying to stop a robbery in December 2011. Alexander Villa, Tyrone Clay and Edgardo Colon were all charged in connection with the slaying.

Their attorneys have argued that the cases were tainted because defense attorneys weren’t present when Clay and Colon gave incriminating statements and prosecutors withheld cellphone records that showed they weren’t at the crime scene when Lewis was killed.

Colon was convicted in 2017, but the verdict was overturned in 2020. Clay remained in jail for almost 12 years without going to trial. Prosecutors dropped all charges against both of them last year just ahead of a hearing where detectives and prosecutors would have had to testify about how they handled the case.

Villa was found guilty in 2019 but had asked a judge to toss out his conviction and order a new trial. Prosecutors dropped the charges during a court hearing on Wednesday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. He had faced counts of murder of a police officer, aggravated battery and armed robbery with a firearm.

More:Stocks

Recommend

How breaking emerged from battles in the burning Bronx to the Paris Olympics stage

NEW YORK — Chino Lopez, aka B-boy Action, took a page out of Wilt Chamberlain's book. His breaking c

In boosting clean energy in Minnesota, Walz lays foundation for climate influence if Harris wins

When Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz strolled onstage to welcome a conference of clean power advocates to Mi

Matthew Stafford's Wife Kelly Stafford Shares Her Advice for Taylor Swift and Fellow Football Wives

As a self-described "elder football wife," Kelly Stafford has some advice for her fellow sideline re