Settlement Comes After Attorneys Uncovered Damning Evidence of a Frame-up That Put an Innocent Man Behind Bars for 33 Years
(BALDWIN PARK, CA) The City of Baldwin Park has agreed to pay $19.1 million to settle a wrongful conviction lawsuit brought by exoneree Daniel Saldaña, the national civil rights firm Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, LLP announced today.
At age 22, Saldaña was just starting out his life when he was wrongfully convicted of charges relating to a 1989 attempted murder. His nightmare began when a Baldwin Park Police Department (BPPD) detective framed him for the drive-by shooting. Saldaña steadfastly maintained his innocence until he was exonerated in 2023 at age 55.
“Mr. Saldaña’s wrongful conviction resulted from the egregious misconduct of a Baldwin Park detective who systematically fabricated evidence and pressured witnesses throughout a fundamentally flawed investigation,” said NSBHF partner Amelia Green. “While no amount of money can restore the years Mr. Saldaña lost to wrongful imprisonment, we hope the settlement with the City of Baldwin Park sends a clear message: law enforcement will be held accountable for such serious abuses of power.”
Saldaña was wrongfully arrested in 1990 for the drive-by shooting in which three perpetrators pulled up to a car full of teenagers at an intersection and opened fire, injuring two teens. Saldaña – who was not in the car and had nothing to do with the crime – was convicted alongside two of the true perpetrators: Raul Vidal, one of the gunmen, and April Gallegos, the driver. A third gunman was later identified but never prosecuted for the crime. Saldaña was exonerated in 2023 after an independent investigation by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit. The Conviction Integrity Unit initiated its investigation after it was made aware of 2017 testimony by Vidal that Saldaña was innocent and never involved in the crime. In May 2023, a California superior court declared Saldaña factually innocent.
In February 2024, NSBHF filed a lawsuit on behalf of Saldaña against former BPPD detective Michael Donovan. The civil rights suit has brought to light powerful evidence of Donovan’s systematic efforts to frame Saldaña by coercing and fabricating eyewitness identifications and falsifying police reports – blatant misconduct that was the sole reason for Saldaña’s conviction. As NSBHF attorneys uncovered, Donovan pressured a teen witness to identify Saldaña as the second shooter even after the teen admitted he never saw a second shooter. Donovan also coerced Gallegos into falsely naming Saldaña as a participant in the crime, and fabricated police reports to further create the false appearance of Saldaña’s involvement. Ultimately, the City of Baldwin Park chose to settle the case before a trial in which the Baldwin Park detective’s flagrant abuses of power would be further exposed.
Today, Saldaña lives in Southern California, where he spends time with his family and friends and enjoys immersing himself in nature, particularly through horseback riding. As Saldaña rebuilds his life following his wrongful incarceration, he seeks to maintain his privacy and is not available for interview.
Saldaña is represented by Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, LLP, based in New York; his legal team includes partners Amelia Green, Nick Brustin, and Anna Benvenutti Hoffmann, attorneys Tony Balkissoon, Annie Sloan, and Grace Paras, and paralegals Alfred Taylor and Isis Arevalo. Saldaña is also represented by co-counsel Michael Romano and Susan Champion of Stanford Law School’s Three Strikes Project, and local counsel Michael Freedman and Ashwini Mate of The Freedman Firm PC.