Dixmoor cop facing criminal charges for allegedly manipulating a police lineup, leading to the arrest of a man later cleared of wrongdoing
A Dixmoor police officer was charged with three felony counts of official misconduct and ordered held on $75,000 bond Thursday after authorities alleged he manipulated a photo lineup during an investigation.
Jose Villegas, 51, who is employed as a commander with the Dixmoor Police Department, was accused of illegally suggesting the identification of an armed robber to a witness during a lineup taken from video footage.
It was an act that landed the wrong man behind bars for 18 days, authorities said. That man was Larry Warnsley, who after being released pressed charges against Villegas.
Warnsley’s attorney, Jordan Marsh, said the experience was something his client never should have gone through.
“He walked into a store to buy a phone and the next thing he knows, he’s looking at a 45-year sentence,” Marsh said. “His life was turned upside down by something so heinous and so casual.”
On Oct. 13, 2021, an armed robbery took place at a Cricket Wireless store in Dixmoor, prosecutors said. A Cricket employee who was present at the time saw the offender flee the store.
Three days later, Warnsley, who knew nothing about the incident, walked into the store, and the employee thought he resembled the robber he had seen. Police responded to the employee’s 911 call and arrested Warnsley, authorities said.
Villegas asked the employee if he could go to the police station to point to the individual he saw from two photo arrays, prosecutors said. But before the employee could pick, Villegas allegedly told the employee to choose the photo of Warnsley.
The employee did what was suggested, authorities said. Warnsley was then charged with armed robbery, a class X felony that is punishable by up to 45 years.
On Nov. 3, a judge found there was no probable cause to believe Warnsley was the robber and all charges against him were dismissed.
In bond court Thursday, a lawyer for Villegas, Irena Stefanovski, described him as a father of a 15-year-old and two adult children, including one who is a Chicago police officer. Villegas’ wife offered to post $1,000 for the officer’s release, but Judge Barbara Dawkins said the amount was too low considering the couple also own a restaurant.
