EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — The City of El Paso and Daniel Villegas have reached an $8 million settlement to resolve a federal civil lawsuit tied to the investigation, arrest and prosecution of Villegas in connection with the 1993 murders of Armando “Mando” Lazzo and Robert “Bobby” England.

As KFOX14/CBS4 previously reported, Villegas was convicted of capital murder in 1995 and sentenced to life in prison for the 1993 drive-by shooting deaths of Armando Lazo and Robert England. The conviction was later overturned in 2013, and Villegas was acquitted in 2018. Upon his release, Villegas filed a lawsuit in 2015 against the city of El Paso and several El Paso Police Department officers who handled the case, citing EPPD’s actions “impaired his rights.”

While Villegas initially sought $20 million in damages, the City of El Paso and Villegas agreed on an $8 million settlement, reached through mediation, avoiding a jury trial, the City said on Monday.

According to the City, settling avoided the uncertainty of a jury trial, the risk of a potentially larger judgment, and the costs and delays of continued litigation, including post-trial motions and possible appeals. The City added that the case involved events from more than 30 years ago, which would create challenges related to witness availability and the passage of time.

“After carefully evaluating the risks, costs and uncertainties associated with continued litigation, the City determined resolving this matter through mediation was in the best interests of the City and its taxpayers,” said Karla Nieman, city attorney for the City of El Paso. “This resolution brings finality to a case that has been in litigation for years while avoiding the additional expense and uncertainty of trial and potential appeals.”

The city said the settlement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing.

What Happened in the Villegas case

In 1993, Villegas was 16-years-old when he was arrested and charged with killing 18-year-old England and 17-year-old Lazo. Villegas had confessed during an interrogation but later recanted, and he has maintained his innocence.

During his interrogation, Villegas alleges, Detective Alfonso Marquez hit him, threatened him with other beatings, and said he would put him in an adult jail where he would be raped if he didn’t cooperate.

While his first trial in the case ended in a mistrial, he was convicted in 1995 without any physical evidence tying him to the murder. His attorneys have routinely shown that the false confession was found to be factually inaccurate. A state judge later agreed, and his confession was thrown out.

In December 2013, an appeals court overturned his conviction, and in January 2014, Villegas was released from prison.

According to the 2015 lawsuit, Villegas accuses EPPD of trying to “secure a confession at any cost.”

It alleges that detectives threatened, tortured, and violated the constitutional rights of several young teenage boys to secure false statements and false confessions.

In 2025, Judge David C. Guaderrama of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas granted summary judgment dismissing claims of malicious prosecution, false arrest, failure-to-intervene and conspiracy against all defendants, according to the city.

According to the City, other claims in the lawsuit remained pending as those would have been decided at a jury trial scheduled in August if the case had not been resolved through mediation.

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