"A wrongfully convicted man who spent more than 30 years behind bars will receive $19.1 million as part of a settlement with the city of Baldwin Park, officials said. Daniel Saldana, 56, was convicted in connection to a 1989 drive-by shooting outside a Baldwin Park high school football game that left two students injured. But for years Saldana maintained he was innocent, insisting he wasn't at the shooting."
"Saldana was was freed from prison in 2023 after a judge declared him factually innocent and, on Friday, the Baldwin Park City Council agreed to pay $19.1 million to settle a wrongful conviction federal lawsuit. Attorneys for Saldana argued in the lawsuit it was the "egregious misconduct" of a Baldwin Park detective that led to the wrongful conviction in 1990."
""Mr. Saldana'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 Amelia Green, one of Saldana's attorneys. The case against Saldana began to unravel when one of the codefendants, Raul Vidal, told the state parole board in 2017 that Saldana was not present at the shooting. A deputy district attorney had been present at Vidal's parole hearing, but the testimony didn't spark a review of the case at the time."
Daniel Saldana spent more than 30 years in prison for a 1989 drive-by shooting before a judge declared him factually innocent in 2023. The Baldwin Park City Council agreed to pay $19.1 million to settle his federal wrongful-conviction lawsuit. Attorneys contend a Baldwin Park detective fabricated evidence and pressured witnesses, triggering the wrongful conviction in 1990. One codefendant, Raul Vidal, told the state parole board in 2017 that Saldana was not at the shooting, but that testimony did not prompt a review at the time. In 2023 the parole board turned over hearing transcripts to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit.
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