A no-bail arrest warrant was issued Thursday, Feb. 27 for 30-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran and University Village resident Thomas Tansey in the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old bisexual barista and Pilsen resident Kenneth Paterimos Jr.
According to Cook County records, Judge Peggy Chiampas handed down the murder charge warrant for Tansey and as of this publication, he has yet to surrender himself to the Chicago Police Department.
This arrest warrant was issued in connection with the events that took place late on Feb. 21, when Paterimos was at Richard's Bar, 491 N. Milwaukee Ave., after finishing his shift at Step Down Cafe in Pilsen.
His 29-year-old brother, Santiago "Julian" Bueno, saw that Paterimos was at the bar via Snapchat. Bueno told Windy City Times that this prompted him to go to Richard's Bar to share some great employment news—that he got jobs working as a boxing trainer at Mayweather Boxing + Fitness in River North and as an assistant football coach and wrestling coach for a Chicago charter school for the 2020-2021 school year.
Bueno said that he witnessed his brother get into a shouting match with Tansey a short time after arriving at bar but he did not hear what they were saying to each other.
According to what witnesses later told the detectives at the scene, Tansey allegedly hurled racist and homophobic slurs at Paterimos when they were arguing.
"The next thing I saw was the man jumping my brother inside the bar and starting to beat him up," Bueno told Windy City Times. "That is when I intervened to separate the two. A bartender tried to kick my brother out without any kind of investigation. All I wanted to do was find out what caused the fight. I told the other man to leave but he did not comply so I escorted him out of the bar. A little while after that, Kenny said he needed a smoke and stepped out of the bar's entrance near the Blue line for that reason.
Bueno added, "Moments later, I saw Kenny stumble into the bar all bloodied. I grabbed him to ask what happened and he did not answer so my thought was to catch the person responsible. I asked myself, 'Do I let my brother die in my arms or find out who did this'. I decided to find out who did this. I looked out the door while still on my knees to the right and did not see anyone and then looked to the left and saw the man whom I escorted out of the bar holding the box cutter in his right hand trying to escape. I quickly got up and ran toward him to tackle him which I did since I felt like he would not respond to verbal commands. The box cutter stayed in the attackers hands the entire time I was holding him down. When the police arrived, I still had him pinned down and that is when he threw the box cutter under a nearby car. That is when I told the police about the box cutter. He was immediately taken into police custody."
Bueno said he and his family later learned that his brother died from multiple stab wounds to various areas of his body.
"The individual taken into custody on the 21st of February presented a self-defense claim, the Cook County State's Attorney then made the case 'Continuing Investigation,' and the subject was subsequently released without charging before the 48 hour limit passed," said Chicago Police Department Office of Communications Police Officer Michael Carroll. "Since then, an arrest warrant has been sought by the Chicago Police Department and that request has been signed by a judge. That arrest warrant has yet to be executed. The subject is urged to turn himself into the Chicago Police Department."
Bueno disputed Tansey's self-defense claim because he said he only pinned him down after he saw his brother's bloody body and the alleged assailant holding the box cutter while trying to flee the scene.
A Paterimos family member created a website demanding "Justice for Kenny" four days after the alleged incident with a call that the suspect be arrested and charged with murder.
The website stated, in part, "Shortly after the suspect was in custody along with the weapon that was used. As more information was being released to the media and more witnesses came forward, the only thing that remained a secret was the suspect's identity. Overnight on Sunday, February 23rd the suspect was released with no charges and still no name mentioned in the headlines or media despite having the murder weapon itself and the witness statements from those who were at the bar including his older brother Julian who was also with him the night of the tragedy and caught the suspect for [the] police. Not only did we have to find out from social media, but the police department didn't even call his mother or our family."
Additionally, the "Justice for Kenny" website had a donation link to help pay for his funeral that took place this past Saturday, Feb. 29 at Fountain Jordan Shepard Funeral Home in Austin with a packed house of mourners.
This is not the first time that Tansey has had an interaction with law enforcement. In Dec. 2016, Tansey was unlawfully carrying a concealed .22-caliber Walther PPK pistol and used it to strike a man to the ground in Arlington Heights. Arlington Heights police arrested him and during the court proceedings he pled guilty to the battery charge, however prosecutors dropped the unlawful use of a weapon charge. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation and mandatory counseling sessions.
Arlington Heights Police Sgt. Andrew Blevins told Windy City Times that Tansey was also "arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on Dec. 21, 2019, and it appears this case is still pending in court."
When Windy City Times reached out to Richard's Bar for a statement about its response to the alleged incident, the number listed on the internet was for a fax machine. No other contact information was found for this establishment online.
