Off Duty: The Crime | Ep 1

Summary

Off Duty: The Crime

Podcast: Off Duty | The Guardian Investigates
Date: March 18, 2026
Reported by: Melissa Segura

---

Episode Overview

This episode, “The Crime,” sets the stage for a deep investigation into the murder of Chicago police officer Clifton Lewis in December 2011. Reporter Melissa Segura explores how the urgent hunt for Lewis's killer devolved into a 12-year quest for justice that, instead of clarity, exposed deep flaws within Chicago’s criminal legal system. Through the story of Alexander Villa—a man convicted for the murder despite persistent claims of innocence—the episode interrogates what happens when institutional safeguards fail and the truth is pushed aside.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Murder of Officer Clifton Lewis (00:56–01:40)

• Clifton Lewis, an 8-year veteran Chicago police officer, was working a security job at the M and M Mini Mart on Dec 29, 2011, when he was shot and killed during a robbery.
• Details: Lewis was killed just four days after getting engaged; he lived in the same neighborhood he served.

The Immediate Police Response (01:32–02:00)

• More than 200 police officers flooded the hospital where Lewis was pronounced dead.
• Police brass ordered that all police work focus exclusively on solving Lewis’s murder.

Early Suspects and the Arrests (02:00–03:16)

• Initial suspicion targeted a gang near the Mini Mart (the Four Corner Hustlers), but a week later police arrested four men associated with the Spanish Cobras.
• Despite intense interrogations and denials from the suspects, police insisted these were the right men.

Erosion of the Case & Focus on Alexander Villa (03:16–05:17)

• Over the years, evidence surfaced of forced or recanted confessions, missing evidence, and the cases against three of the four suspects collapsed.
• Only Alexander Villa remained imprisoned, insisting on his innocence throughout.

“What happens when…every single part of the criminal legal system…did not do its job? When people with power refused to admit they could be wrong and doubled down again and again?”
—Melissa Segura (04:08)

Family Perspectives & Trial Experience (05:17–08:19)

• Alexander’s siblings, especially his brother Stephen and sister Marisol, describe feeling targeted by the system.
• The trial atmosphere was fraught with intimidation, including heavy police presence.

“Not letting my 80 year old grandma sit down at court…it was crazy. It was almost like Gotham City. Like you had the joker on trial here.”
—Stephen Villa (06:16)

• Prosecution presented surveillance footage and confessions, all disputed by Villa’s family.
• The conviction came swiftly: four hours of jury deliberation ended in a guilty verdict.

“He didn’t do this. He didn’t do this.”
—Stephen Villa, recalling his reaction in court (07:44)

Struggles After Conviction—The Appeal Process (08:19–14:28)

• Marisol (a probation officer) took immediate, proactive steps to protect records and evidence for future appeals.
• The sisters describe reaching out to multiple law clinics and private lawyers—being rejected repeatedly, either for the nature of the crime or because the victim was a police officer.

“It almost felt like we were being judged without even getting to know us or just the whole situation.”
—Marisol Villa (13:47)

• Lawyers the family were able to retain performed poorly; one even got Alex's name wrong in court.

Context & Character of Alexander Villa (09:20–12:02)

• Alexander grew up in a Puerto Rican family in Chicago, in a neighborhood permeated by gang and police violence.
• Both Alexander and Stephen were drawn into gangs at a young age, describing it as almost inevitable.
• Alexander’s past includes a conviction for a fatal hit-and-run 11 months after Lewis’s murder.
• Segura reflects on the complexity of the case, resisting simplistic narratives of innocence/guilt.

“We want nice, bright lines between offenders and victims, but the reality is so much messier.”
—Melissa Segura (12:40)

Meeting Jennifer Blagg: A Surprising Legal Ally (15:20–21:42)

• With options exhausted, Alex himself identifies attorney Jennifer Blagg based on her strong legal filings.
• Blagg is known for defending police officers, including Jason Van Dyke (the officer who killed Laquan McDonald), leading to the family’s deep reservations about her.

“How could someone who defended cops turn around and defend their brother? Someone accused of killing an officer?”
—Melissa Segura (18:25)

• Blagg shares her thought process and her outsider background, and ultimately decides to take the case despite her associate’s skepticism.

Building the Defense: Revealing Flaws in the Prosecution (21:53–25:37)

• Marisol and Melissa, the sisters, argue that Alex could not be the killer:
  • The Mini Mart was outside Cobra territory.
  • Coerced confessions were obtained after lengthy police interrogations.
  • Surveillance footage showed someone vaulting a counter with their left hand—impossible for Alex, who had a lasting hand injury from a gunshot.
  • Alex had provided an alibi (texting with his girlfriend at the time of the murder).

“Alex is a chubby dude…has a hand injury. I mean, let’s be logical here.”
—Marisol Villa (22:58)

• Their explanations lead Jennifer Blagg to agree to take the case, even as her associate Eric Bisbee initially resists.
• Reviewing the files, Bisbee sees damning evidence—until he spots a recorded confession (from witness Melvin DeYoung) where, alone in the interrogation room, the witness whispers: “It was a lie.” (25:34–26:50)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the weight of the justice system:
  “It’s because we tend to think that a great injustice requires some grand plan…But what happens when that’s not the story at all?”
  —Melissa Segura (04:02)

• On family loyalty:
  “I would bet everything that I have on that.”
  —Stephen Villa (05:17)

• On intimidation in the courtroom:
  “Not letting my 80-year-old grandma sit down at court…It was crazy. It was almost like Gotham City. Like you had the Joker on trial here.”
  —Stephen Villa (06:16)

• On being judged for defending a cop killer:
  “It was like, what? This is what you specialize in? This is what you do?”
  —Marisol Villa (13:33)

• On the messy truth behind the case:
  “Most people who commit crimes are also the victims of crimes.”
  —Melissa Segura (12:40)

• On the pivotal moment of possible exoneration:
  “Melvin, once he’s alone, he looks up at the camera and he whispers, it was a lie. Eric looks back into Melvin’s face…Melvin says it again. It was a lie.”
  —Melissa Segura (25:34–26:50)

---

Key Segment Timestamps

• The Crime: 00:56–01:40
• Police Response & Initial Investigation: 01:32–03:16
• Alexander Villa’s Trial: 05:17–08:06
• Family Appeal Struggles: 08:19–14:28
• The Context of Villa’s Life: 09:20–12:02
• Meeting Attorney Jennifer Blagg: 15:20–21:42
• The Defense Strategy and Discovery: 21:53–25:37
• Eyewitness Recantation (“it was a lie”): 25:34–26:50

---

Conclusion

Episode 1 of "Off Duty" provides a gripping, deeply human account of not just a crime and its investigation, but the failures of a law enforcement system under pressure, and the toll taken on those drawn into its machinery. The episode ends with tantalizing hints that cracks in the conviction are emerging—most notably the recantation from a key witness—and previews the long, arduous fight ahead. The story is less about one villain or hero, and more about an interconnected web of institutions and people caught in a relentless pursuit of closure—sometimes at the expense of truth.

Transcript

[Farnoosh Torabi]

This is the Guardian.

[Babbel Advertiser]

Par le tu francais hablas espanol? Par le italiano. If you've used Babbel, you would Babbel's conversation based technique teaches you useful words and phrases to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually talk about in the real world. With lessons handcrafted by over 200 language experts and voiced by real native speakers. Baby Babbel is like having a private tutor in your pocket. Start speaking with Babbel today. Get up to 55% off your Babbel subscription right now at babbel.com acast spelled B-A B B E L.com acast rules and restrictions may apply.

[Melissa Segura]

On the evening of December 29, 2011, Clifton Lewis showed up for his at the M and M Mini Mart on Chicago's west side. He worked days as an officer in the Chicago Police Department, but was moonlighting as a security guard to pick up a little extra cash. He was chit chatting behind the counter with the store owner and a clerk around 8:30pm when two men walked into the M and M. They shot Lewis

[Farnoosh Torabi]

several times, then took off with his

[Melissa Segura]

gun and police start Seconds after the gunman left, a bystander called 911. Lewis was rushed to the hospital.

[Marisol Villa]

More than 200 police officers gathered in the parking lot of Strozier Hospital where Lewis was pronounced dead.

[Melissa Segura]

He had been on the force for eight years, a black officer who lived in the neighborhood he served, and he'd gotten engaged four days earlier. On Christmas morning, police launched a massive manhunt for Lewis Killer. The brass ordered that police work only this case until it was solved. Tips poured in and many pointed to the four Corner Hustlers, the gang that controlled the area around the Mini Mart. A week later, police had their suspects, but they weren't hustlers. They were four men affiliated with a gang called the Spanish Cobras. For hours under intense police questioning, they said they didn't do it. But that didn't seem to matter. The Chicago Police Department decided these were the guys responsible for the brutal murder of Officer Clifton Lewis. In the years that follow, confessions would be made and recanted, evidence missing and exposed. The case against three of the men will fall apart, but one, Alexander Villa, would remain behind bars in a system that seemed determined to keep him there at all costs. From the guardian I'm melissa segura. This is off duty. Episode 1 the crime. I first heard the name Alex Villa in 2019. I'd been reporting on a series of wrongful convictions in Chicago and his sister Wrote me shortly after he'd been convicted of killing Officer Lewis. But my editor at the time wasn't interested in another wrongful conviction story. Heard one, heard them all. Except I couldn't let it go. It tugged at my brain. And eventually I realized why. It's because we tend to think that a great injustice requires some grand plan or some comic book villain. But what happens when that's not the story at all? When instead, every single part of the criminal legal system, Police officers, their supervisors, forensics, prosecutors, did not do its job. When people with power refused to admit that they could be wrong and doubled down again and again. When the pursuit of truth takes a backseat to what they really might think of as the pursuit of justice. Institutions are supposed to have safeguards to make sure that doesn't happen. This is the story of what happens when they fail. Those decisions ripple out. They reinforce each other and magnify. And only when you look back at them from the perspective of years can you see how much destruction they've caused. Alex Villa was tried for the murder of Clifton Lewis in February 2019, more than seven years after Lewis was killed. From the beginning, Alex swore he didn't do it. He never changed his story in the years that followed.

[Stephen Villa]

I thought my brother had the case beat the whole time. Like, my brother could have done many things. He's definitely not no angel, but he definitely wouldn't do that. I would bet everything that I have on that.

[Melissa Segura]

That's Alex's older brother, Stephen. They grew up in Chicago in a big Puerto Rican family. Who all showed up for Alex's trial. Stephen, Alex's two older sisters, his young daughter and son, his mother and his elderly grandmother. The trial was a massive event, especially for the Chicago police department. One of their own had been killed, and they had finally gotten their man. For four days, Alex's family arrived to a wall of Chicago police officers staring them down.

[Stephen Villa]

The whole front of Cook county jail would be lined up with police cars. The whole front in the middle of the street every court day.

[Melissa Segura]

Once they got inside, the tension was even worse. It was like officer Lewis had been killed yesterday.

[Stephen Villa]

Like there was 100 cops in the courtroom. Not letting my 80 year old grandma sit down at court, it was just. It was crazy. It was almost like Gotham City. Like you had the joker on trial here.

[Melissa Segura]

In the courtroom, the prosecution laid out their case. They showed surveillance footage from the night of the murder. A man jumping over the counter at the mini mart, pointing his gun and firing at Clifton Lewis. That man was Alex. They said they Had a confession from one of Alex's alleged accomplices and statements from three people who said Alex told him he's the one who committed the murder. Alex's sister Marisol, told me the whole time, she felt like the fix was in. She said it felt like prosecutors would openly taunt Alex in the courtroom.

[Marisol Villa]

Looking at their body language, right? Like, even the prosecutors, like, ha, ha ha, you're going away, you know?

[Melissa Segura]

After four days of testimony, the jury reached a verdict in under four hours. Guilty. Marisol caught Alex's eye as he was led away in handcuffs.

[Marisol Villa]

I specifically looked at Alex and was telling him, don't worry. You're gonna come out of this, you know, like. And he just had, like, this blank face. And then I was looking at the rest of my family. You know, his daughter was there. His son, like, my other brother Steven. He, like, fell to the floor and started crying in the middle of court.

[Melissa Segura]

Loudly.

[Marisol Villa]

Was like, he didn't do this. He didn't do this.

[Stephen Villa]

They escorted me out like, eight county sheriffs. I was just all over the place.

[Melissa Segura]

The sentence would come later, but Alex's siblings knew that being convicted of killing a cop meant their brother was spending the rest of his life in prison. He was 30 years old, and he was never coming home.

[Stephen Villa]

My mom has heart failure. His daughters are getting big. My grandma's getting older. There's a possibility that he's gonna lose people that he loves all his life, and he's not even gon to see it, and he's sitting in jail for something he didn't do.

[Melissa Segura]

Marisol knew better than to wallow or to wait. She worked as a probation officer in the same courthouse where Alex was tried. And so she knew the first thing they'd need for an appeal was a copy of the trial transcripts. Even before they left the courtroom, she put her sister Melissa to work.

[Marisol Villa]

She's like, make sure you call the court reporter's office and request the trial transcripts. Because things mysteriously disappear, and especially a high profile a case like this.

[Melissa Segura]

Melissa did something else. Right after Alex was convicted, she reached out to me. Like I said, I couldn't write about the case at the time, but years later, I found out the case was still moving through the courts. So I reached out to Melissa, and then I went to visit her and Marisol in the home they share in the Hermosa neighborhood where they grew up. Alex is the youngest, six years younger than Marisol and four years behind Melissa.

[Marisol Villa]

He's always been, you know, the baby of the house. And grandma's favorite and. And I say he was the favorite one jokingly, but he's. He's truly loved since he was very little.

My mom was so protective of him, like he was. Her world is her world.

[Melissa Segura]

Their parents split up when they were kids, and they all moved with their mom to the city's northwest side. There were eight or so gangs fighting for turf back then in Hermosa and neighboring Humboldt Park. Gunfire was often the soundtrack of their neighborhood.

[Marisol Villa]

There was even a time I was sitting outside the front steps of my home and there was a drive by happening, and I had to hide underneath the stairs and duck there with my friends.

[Melissa Segura]

The girls hid from the violence. Melissa poured herself into motherhood after getting pregnant at 15. Marisol escaped into school, getting herself into college, then a master's degree in social work. It was different for boys. Steven told me, you are either in a gang or you are its target. He joined the Spanish Cobras when he was in middle school.

[Stephen Villa]

Our father was in a gang. Our uncles were in gangs. So it wasn't that we were trying to be in gangs. It's almost like it's second nature to kind of be in gangs when you're in Chicago, specifically in my area as well. You know, it's almost like you're not doing nothing bad. It's almost like that's what you're supposed to do, because it's almost like depending on what side you're on, dictates what you will be.

[Melissa Segura]

Alex joined the Cobras two at age 13. Steven says they've both been having run ins with the cops ever since.

[Stephen Villa]

I mean, when we're young, the things the police used to do to us was just crazy. Like, they'll drop us off in different gang neighborhoods. They'll mace us, they'll beat us up, pin drugs on us. They'll lie and say we did things that we didn't do. I mean, we grew up fighting that all our lives.

[Melissa Segura]

Alex was arrested dozens of times over the years for everything from possession of marijuana to robbery. But those charges never stuck, which, as Steven sees it, made him even more of a target.

[Stephen Villa]

Like, my brother was a well known guy, and he's been around in this area a long time, you know, and he's a charmer. He's got the girls, you know, he's always dressed nice, he's got a car, you know, My brother, he's just well known, well known. And the police hated him all his life. That police department, 25th district couldn't stand us.

[Melissa Segura]

Listen, there's something I Need to tell you up front. And it doesn't really have anything to do with the story I'm telling you. Not directly, but I don't want to paint a false picture of Alex as some kind of angel like his brother says he wasn't. Case in point, Alex did get one conviction, and it's a serious one. He killed someone in a hit and run 11 months after officer Lewis's murder. And I have to say, part of me wishes I could tell you a neater story of a man who does no wrong, accused of a crime he says he didn't commit. That's the movie narrative. The Shawshank Redemption, The Fugitive. We want nice, bright lines between offenders and victims, but the reality is so much messier. Most people who commit crimes are also the victims of crimes. It's a finding that holds true across the globe. Point being, when Alex went hunting for a lawyer to handle his appeal, he had two strikes against him. The first was the hit and run. But the bigger problem was that he had now been convicted of murdering a cop. Thanks to her job in probation, Marisol knew about law clinics that specialized in representing the wrongfully convicted. She says she contacted all of them, and she says they all turned her away.

[Marisol Villa]

And it was like, what? This is what you specialize in? This is what you do?

[Farnoosh Torabi]

Why wouldn't you want this?

[Melissa Segura]

You know, so did at least 10 private defense lawyers. Melissa says, the moment, you know, you

[Marisol Villa]

even mentioned, okay, this is a murder, but this is not just a murder. It is a murder of a police officer. It almost felt like. Like we were being judged without even getting to know us or just the whole situation.

[Melissa Segura]

For a year, the sisters got nowhere. The moment they mentioned their brother's name. The Spanish Cobras. The murder of a police officer. It was like they could see the gate come down right before their eyes. And the courts wouldn't wait forever for Alex to find a new lawyer. They felt like they were running out of time.

[Marisol Villa]

We were, like, out of money almost. We kind of exhausted our. Our options at that point.

[Melissa Segura]

They paid Alex's first lawyer a lot of money, but they both felt like he never cared enough about their brother's defense. During the trial, he called only one witness to the stand. The sisters tracked down a second attorney for Alex's appeal, but they felt like he was worse than their original lawyer. In one embarrassing incident, he got Alex's name wrong and referred to him as Miguel.

[Marisol Villa]

Like the prosecutors would even laugh at court as he was presenting his defense. And all of that, they were not at all shook or anything by him.

The first one failed us. The second one was just absolutely lousy.

There were times we felt sick physically, like exhausted. Yeah, and we still pushed ourselves or we pushed each other like it was a big, big rollercoaster ride.

[Melissa Segura]

Then in February 2020, Alex called them with an idea. The window to argue for a new trial was closing. In jail, he'd read some legal filings in another Chicago case. They were thorough, well argued, and all of the names seemed to be correct. And he thought, now this is the kind of attorney I need. That attorney's name was Jennifer Blagg.

[Babbel Advertiser]

Par le tu francais hablas espanol par le italiano. If you've used Babbel, you would Babbel's conversation based technique teaches you useful words and phrases to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually talk about in the real world. With lessons handcrafted by over 200 language experts and voiced by real native speakers, Babbel is like having a private tutor in your pocket. Start speaking with Babbel today. Get up to 55% off your Babbel subscription right now at babbel.com acast spelled B A B B E L.com acast rules and restrictions may apply.

[Farnoosh Torabi]

Hi, this is Farnoosh Tarabi from so Money with Farnoosh Tarabi and today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile Quick Money Tip Stop paying a carrier Tax if your phone bill feels trapped in a pricey plan, this is your sign to unlock savings. Boost Mobile helps you reset your spending. With the $25 Unlimited Forever plan, you can bring your own phone, pay $25 and get unlimited Wireless Forever. And that simple switch can unlock up to $600 in savings a year. That's money you could put towards paying down debt, investing or something that actually brings you joy. Those savings are based on average annual single line payment of AT&T Verizon and T Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited plan as of January 2026. Details Visit boostmobile.com.

[Melissa Segura]

Marisol and Melissa typed Jennifer's name into Google and when they saw the results they were like, what is Alex thinking? Why her Jennifer had represented high profile cops in murder cases. She had successfully defended an off duty officer charged with killing an unarmed black woman. Then she represented a white police officer named Jason Van Dyke. If that name sounds familiar, that's because Van Dyke was the cop who killed a 17 year old black boy named Laquan McDonald. It was a horrific case that received national attention both because of the shooting van Dyke fired 16 shots at the boy. And because it took over a year and a lawsuit for the CPD to release the dash cam video of the incident. 16 shots.

[Babbel Advertiser]

16 shots.

[Melissa Segura]

16 shots. The case and the allegations of a cover up prompted mass protests throughout the city.

[Marisol Villa]

14, 15, 16, 16 shots.

[Melissa Segura]

How could someone who defended cops turn around and defend their brother? Someone accused of killing an officer?

[Marisol Villa]

I didn't feel comfortable about that.

[Melissa Segura]

Neither did I. They knew Alex was getting desperate, but still this woman really.

[Marisol Villa]

But he was a bit adamant and of course he was frustrated. And he's like, go talk to her. Let's see. He was very optimistic about her.

[Melissa Segura]

In March 2020, Marisol and Melissa drove to Blagg's office. The woman who greeted them was not what they expected. When Melissa and Marisol met her. Jennifer Blagg wasn't dressed up. She wasn't wearing makeup. She definitely didn't sound like some slick city lawyer. She grew up in a town called Hamburg, Arkansas, 2,400. She just might be Hamburg's second most

[Jennifer Blagg]

notable export to Chicago, home of Scottie Pippen. This is claim to fame. We lived in a concrete house that was across the cotton field from my grandparents. We had a pet cow named Daisy that I kept in touch with my cow until my mom gave her to a farmer and he promised not to kill a cow. Anyway, that's a whole other story.

[Melissa Segura]

Jennifer was a tomboy growing up. She played basketball, hated dresses, and wanted to leave her small town for as long as she can remember. But after college, she settled down in Arkansas and worked in hr. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was meant to be doing something else, somewhere else. So she worked full time and went to law school at night.

[Jennifer Blagg]

I got a job at first selling pantyhose at Dillard's. I am not a fashionista. I do not like wearing dresses. I do not like wearing pantyhose. It's absolutely hilarious that I would be selling pantyhose and giving women recommendations on if they should use ultra sheer or sheer. You know, I mean, it's just a hoot.

[Melissa Segura]

Jennifer eventually walked across the stage in her cap and gown. No pantyhose, of course. To collect her law degree, She moved to Chicago and took on some high profile cases. She's proud of all of them. The wrongful conviction she's overturned and the police officer she's defended. Even though the Jason Van Dyke case was really controversial, it wasn't just the Villa sisters who were skeptical about that one. Jennifer's friends were too she didn't represent Van Dyke at trial, but took on his case when she saw the sentence the prosecution was asking for. Fleig wasn't apologetic when talking to the Sisters about the case.

[Jennifer Blagg]

They wanted every shot of the bullet to count towards his sentence, and it to be a consecutive sentence. If he got sentenced that way, every defendant after him would be sentenced that way. And that is. That's not how the law should work.

[Melissa Segura]

Marisol and Melissa were still skeptical, but they were there because Alex asked them to be. So they put aside their own misgivings and told Jennifer that they were certain their brother was innocent, full stop, and they needed someone good to represent him.

[Jennifer Blagg]

I always take what family says to me with a grain of salt. Not that they wouldn't be lying or anything like that, but there's sometimes things that family just don't know.

[Marisol Villa]

She's like, well, what makes him innocent? Anybody can say, you know, especially if you're family, that your loved one is innocent. What makes him innocent?

[Melissa Segura]

For the next two hours, the Sisters laid out their reasoning. First, the Eminem Mini Mart is not in Cobra territory. No Cobra would travel to another gang's turf to rob a store. Second, the confessions from Alex's alleged accomplices. Those happened after days of grueling interrogations, the Sister said. Then there was the surveillance tape from the Mini Mart. The man who leaps over the counter and starts shooting Officer Lewis. He puts his left hand on the counter to vault over it. That couldn't be Alex, they said. Alex was shot in his left hand six months before the crime, and it never fully healed. No way he could put his weight on it to jump over a counter like that.

[Marisol Villa]

He has permanent nerve damage to the point where his fingers, they get stiff even when he would eat the way he would hold a spoon. It's not like what a normal person, right? How you would hold a spoon. It wasn't. He can't do that.

[Melissa Segura]

Also, they said it wasn't just his hand that made the idea of him jumping over the counter implausible.

[Marisol Villa]

Alex is a chubby dude. He's always been chubby. He's short chubby, you know, has a hand injury. I mean, let's be logical here.

[Melissa Segura]

The other thing was, Alex had presented an alibi that he was arguing with his girlfriend over text messages at the time of the murder. Prosecutors shot that down, arguing he could have just sent a quick emoji as he entered the store. Speaking of the prosecutors, the Sisters told Jennifer that they didn't trust them. Their names were Andrew Varga. And Nancy Aduci. Jennifer stopped them right there and said, wait, you need to understand that I'm friends with Nancy Aducy. We've worked together on a lot of things, and I like her. And right there, the sister's doubts about Jennifer came rushing back.

[Marisol Villa]

I was cringing at my seat. I was like, I want to leave, you know? Or like, I don't like her.

[Melissa Segura]

They said their goodbyes, and when Alex called to see how the meeting went, they didn't hold back. She's not right. They told him. She's not the one. Alex told him he didn't care if she wanted to take on his case, then he wanted her as his lawyer. Back in her office, Jennifer told her associate attorney, a guy named Eric Bisbee, about her meeting with the sisters.

[Jennifer Blagg]

From what they told me, it just seemed impossible that Alex would have done this. And then when you have a huge gap in time between, like, the crime and somebody being charged, then you're. That always is, as the kids say, sus. There's always shenanigans when there's a cop murder.

[Melissa Segura]

Plus, she said she liked Marisol and Melissa and she felt bad for them, which, Eric pointed out, is not a good reason to take on a case.

[Jennifer Blagg]

And then Eric was like, I don't think we should take it. I was like, well, I might have already said we would, you know?

[Melissa Segura]

So, against his better judgment, Eric went ahead and requested the case file from Alex's previous lawyer.

[Eric Bisbee]

It was just massive. I remember I showed up one day, and we have five banker boxes full of documents on the back porch. And I'm just thinking, how are we gonna do this? I mean, it was a lot.

[Melissa Segura]

He started with the trial transcripts, and right away, he thought, this is even worse than I imagined. They've got confessions of alleged accomplices. They've got three other people saying that Alex told them that he killed Officer Lewis.

[Eric Bisbee]

I looked at the summary. I'm like, jennifer's lost her mind.

[Melissa Segura]

He watched one police interrogation after another, Recordings of the confessions made by Alex's alleged accomplices, the men who were supposedly at the M and M during the robbery. And nothing in any of them gave him a sliver of hope. Eventually, he got to one of a guy named Melvin DeYoung. And it's the same story Eric heard on all the other tapes. Then Alex was the shooter. He's thinking, this case is open and shut. And then just as he's about to stop the video, he says something catches his attention. The detectives who've been interrogating Melvin leave the room, but they don't stop recording. And Melvin, once he's alone, he looks up at the camera and he whispers, it was a lie. Eric looks back into Melvin's face, his eyes staring right into the lens, and Melvin says it again. It was a lie. This season on Off Duty, so there

[Marisol Villa]

was like a bunch of guys that had attacked him that knew his location. Who would have known that information?

[Eric Bisbee]

He says. I had a brain eating amoeba.

[Stephen Villa]

Next thing you know, they got the beating on my dog.

[Melissa Segura]

Boom boom boom boom boom. You know I'm lying to you because

[Stephen Villa]

I told you from the beginning that

[Melissa Segura]

I had nothing to do with this.

[Jennifer Blagg]

There's nothing on this. Are you effing kidding me?

[Stephen Villa]

Every phase of this experience is something being taken from me.

[Jennifer Blagg]

You have to be a fucking idiot to do this job and win, right? Like, you've got to have some blind faith. I was like, bring it.

[Melissa Segura]

The Guardian made repeated attempts to speak with the Chicago Police Department. The department did not have anyone available available to answer our questions, a spokesperson wrote in an email in court documents. Officers deny any Misconduct Former prosecutors Nancy Adduces and Andy Varga, along with legal representatives for each party, did not respond to multiple interview requests or a detailed list of questions. Prosecutors denied any misconduct in court papers. No officers or prosecutors have been accused of wrongdoing by officials in connection with this case. This is the guardian

[Stephen Villa]

foreign.

[Farnoosh Torabi]

Hi, this is Farnoosh Tarabi from Sew Money with Farnoosh Tarabi, and today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile. Quick Money Tip Stop paying a carrier tax if your phone bill feels trapped in a pricey plan, this is your sign to unlock savings. Boost Mobile helps you reset your spending. With the $25 Unlimited Forever plan, you can bring your own phone, pay $25 and get unlimited wireless forever. And that simple SW up to $600 in savings a year. That's money you could put towards paying down debt, investing or something that actually brings you joy. Those savings are based on average annual single line payment of AT&T Verizon and T Mobile customers, compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited plan as of January 2026. For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com a

[Eric Bisbee]

password manager should be the first security purchase you make for your team. Why? Because compromised passwords are the number one way bad actors attack companies, and small businesses are their favorite targets. But unlike a lot of security challenges, passwords actually have a pretty simple solution. 1Password lets you manage all your business's credentials so you can feel confident that your data stays secure as your company grows. Find out [e-mail] specialoffer and start securing every login.

[Babbel Advertiser]

Parle tu francais hablas espanol? Parl italiano. If you've used Babbel, you would Babbel's conversation based technique teaches you useful words and phrases to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually talk about in the real world. With lessons handcrafted by over 200 language experts and voiced by real native speakers, Babbel is like having a private tutor in your pocket. Start speaking with Babbel today. Get up to 50 25% off your Babbel subscription right now at babbel.com acast spelled b a b b e l.com acast rules and restrictions may apply.