Des Plaines man awarded million for wrongful conviction now sued over shooting

A Des Plaines man awarded $25 million for his wrongful murder conviction is now being sued by the man police say he shot last month in Chicago.

In a lawsuit filed Monday, attorneys for Earl Casteel say 36-year-old Thaddeus Jimenez shot their client twice in the legs Aug. 17 on a Chicago street, causing him severe injuries.

They're seeking at least $50,000 in damages, plus additional punitive damages, from Jimenez, who also faces aggravated battery and weapons charges stemming from the Albany Park shooting. Federal authorities also indicted Jimenez on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence if he's convicted.

Cook County authorities have said the shooting last month was the result of an internal gang dispute.

“The reckless conduct exhibited by Mr. Jimenez in shooting an unarmed victim can only be categorized as 'willful and wanton' behavior,” Casteel attorney Kevin M. O'Brien said in a news release. “We trust that a jury will find accordingly and hold Mr. Jimenez monetarily responsible for his action.”

Jimenez spent 16 years in prison after being convicted of murder at age 13 for the 1993 shooting death of a 19-year-old on Chicago's Northwest side. His conviction was later overturned and he was released from prison in 2009. A jury awarded him $25 million from the city of Chicago in 2012, one of the largest judgments in a wrongful conviction case in history.