Today in Focus – Off Duty: The Crime (March 21, 2026)

Podcast by The Guardian

Summary by Podcast Summarizer

Episode Overview

Off Duty: The Crime is the gripping first installment in a new series from Guardian Investigates. Hosted by Melissa Segura, the episode unravels the complex aftermath of Chicago police officer Clifton Lewis's 2011 murder—a tragedy that launched a 12-year quest for justice and exposed deep failures in the criminal legal system. Through on-the-ground reporting and emotional family testimony, the episode challenges the audience to question how wrongful convictions become entrenched and who is left to fight when the system appears determined to keep someone behind bars.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Killing of Clifton Lewis and Immediate Police Response (00:57–02:00)

• On December 29, 2011, Officer Clifton Lewis, working a second job as a security guard at a mini mart, was shot and killed by two armed men.
• Over 200 officers gathered at the hospital where he died; his murder was met by an enormous, urgent police response.
• Police were ordered to focus exclusively on this case, quickly targeting local gangs for suspects.

2. Investigation and the Focus on Alex Villa (02:00–05:18)

• Initial tips pointed to the Four Corner Hustlers gang, but four men from a rival group—the Spanish Cobras—were arrested, including Alexander (Alex) Villa.
• The suspects, under lengthy, high-pressure interrogations, denied involvement.
• Over time, confessions were made and later recanted; evidence was both lost and uncovered.
• While charges against three men crumbled, Alex Villa remained incarcerated, seemingly caught by an institution unwilling to reconsider.

3. Family Testimony on Alex and the Trial Atmosphere (05:18–07:25)

• Alex’s brother Stephen and sisters Melissa and Marisol describe a hostile, intimidating trial environment, with heavy police presence and open antagonism from prosecutors.
• Stephen Villa (05:18): “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.”
• The jury convicted Alex in under four hours; his family reacted with visible anguish in court.

4. Alex’s Background: Gangs, Police Hostility, and Family Struggles (08:20–12:02)

• The Villa family’s Puerto Rican heritage and neighborhood in Chicago exposed them to routine gang and police violence.
• The sisters avoided trouble through motherhood and education; Stephen and Alex were recruited by the Spanish Cobras at a young age. Their father and uncles had similar affiliations.
• Stephen recounts systemic police abuse, including violent misconduct and false charges.
• Stephen Villa (11:09): “The things the police used to do to us was just crazy...they’ll mace us, they’ll beat us up, pin drugs on us...that police department, 25th district couldn’t stand us.”

5. Complexity of Alex’s Character and Legal Disadvantages (12:02–14:28)

• Host Melissa stresses the uncomfortable truth: Alex had a serious past, including a hit-and-run conviction after the Lewis murder.
  • “Most people who commit crimes are also the victims of crimes... Point being, when Alex went hunting for a lawyer... he had two strikes against him.” (12:53)
• The family faces universal rejections from law clinics and private lawyers who balk at taking on a cop-murder case.

6. Legal Ordeals and the Search for Competent Representation (14:28–15:20)

• The Villa sisters spent everything on a trial lawyer they felt was indifferent, and a second appellate lawyer they describe as even worse.
• Prosecutors openly mocked the family’s defense efforts.

7. Enter Jennifer Blagg: Unlikely Ally (15:20–20:59)

• Desperate, Alex identifies a new potential attorney, Jennifer Blagg, after reading her skilled legal filings in another case.
• Blagg's background is surprising: she had defended high-profile police officers, including Jason Van Dyke (the cop who shot Laquan McDonald).
• The family’s distrust surfaces:
  • Marisol Villa (18:13): “I didn’t feel comfortable about that.”
• Blagg is candid: “I always take what family says to me with a grain of salt. Not that they would be lying... but there’s sometimes things that family just don’t know.” (21:14)

8. Family’s Rationale and New Evidence (21:23–22:50)

• The sisters challenge key facts in the prosecution’s case:
  • Alex's hand injury made it impossible for him to have vaulted the counter as seen on surveillance.
  • The crime occurred outside Cobra territory—implausible for a rival gang member.
  • Alex had an alibi (an argument via text at the time of the crime).
  • Confessions were obtained after grueling interrogations and then recanted.
• “Alex is a chubby dude...has a hand injury. I mean, let's be logical here.” (22:38)

9. Attorney Blagg’s Initial Doubt and Breakthrough Discovery (23:42–25:18)

• Blagg’s team is overwhelmed by case files and the “open-and-shut” appearance—until Eric Bisbee, Blagg’s associate, spots a crucial detail.
  • Reviewing interrogation tapes, Bisbee sees a supposed accomplice (Melvin DeYoung) alone, whispering to the camera: “It was a lie.”
• Eric Bisbee (25:18): “...nothing in any of them gave him a sliver of hope. Eventually...once he's alone, he looks up at the camera and he whispers, it was a lie. ... It was a lie.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |:----------:|----------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 05:18 | Stephen Villa | "My brother could have done many things...but he definitely wouldn't do that..." | | 07:25 | Marisol Villa | "You're going to come out of this, you know...he just had, like, this blank face."| | 11:09 | Stephen Villa | "The things the police used to do to us was just crazy...the police hated him." | | 12:53 | Melissa Segura | "Most people who commit crimes are also the victims of crimes..." | | 14:53 | Marisol Villa | “[T]he prosecutors would even laugh at court as he was presenting his defense...”| | 18:13 | Marisol Villa | "I didn’t feel comfortable about that." | | 21:14 | Jennifer Blagg | "I always take what family says to me with a grain of salt..." | | 22:38 | Villa Sisters | "Alex is a chubby dude...has a hand injury. I mean, let's be logical here." | | 23:30 | Marisol Villa | "I was cringing at my seat. I was like, ah, I want to leave..." | | 25:18 | Eric Bisbee | "...he looks up at the camera and he whispers, it was a lie." |

Important Segment Timestamps

• Crime & Initial Investigation: 00:57–05:18
  Details of the shooting, manhunt, and the focus shifting from one gang to another.

• Trial and Family Testimony: 05:18–08:07
  Emotional recounting of trial experiences, family’s devastation at the verdict.

• Villa Family & Neighborhood Context: 09:21–12:02
  The family’s history with gangs, police, and the city’s violence.

• Legal Struggles & Attorney Rejections: 13:34–15:20
  The search for a lawyer and universal reluctance due to “cop killing” charge.

• Meeting Jennifer Blagg & Building the Appeal: 17:07–25:18
  Blagg’s controversial background, family’s doubts, and the shocking discovery in confession tapes.

Conclusion

This episode lays the groundwork for a re-examination not just of Alex Villa’s guilt or innocence, but of the mechanisms that turn suspicion into wrongful conviction. It’s a tale about ordinary failures compounding into institutional injustice, and the stubborn hope of those left to fight for a loved one’s name against a system unwilling to admit error. The episode ends with a preview of the investigative challenges and a promise to dig deeper into the cracks of the case.

For further exploration: Follow the Off Duty series on Guardian Investigates for subsequent episodes unpacking the continuing legal battles and ongoing search for real justice.