Nearly three decades after a fatal shooting outside a Deep Ellum nightclub, a man has been sentenced to prison for a murder that cost an innocent man more than 25 years of his freedom.
Michael Nevarez, 45, pleaded guilty to murder this week, and a jury sentenced him to 21 years in prison for the July 14, 1997, shooting death of 21-year-old Damond Wittman.
According to authorities, Nevarez, then 16, approached Wittman and his friends outside a Deep Ellum nightclub and asked for a cigarette. After Wittman gave him one, Nevarez pulled a gun and demanded money. Wittman fought back and was shot multiple times. He later died at Baylor University Medical Center.
But while Nevarez avoided prosecution for decades, another man, Martin Santillan, was wrongly convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison.
Michael Nevarez
Dallas County Jail
“Today’s outcome is an important step toward accountability for Damond Wittman’s murder and for his family, who have waited decades for justice,” Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot said this week.
“It is also a reminder of the profound consequences of a wrongful conviction,” Creuzot said. “Martin Santillan lost more than 25 years of his life for a crime he did not commit. Our responsibility is to pursue the truth, correct past injustices, and hold the person responsible accountable.”
How DNA evidence exposed a wrongful conviction
Santillan, then 24, was convicted of capital murder in 1998 and sentenced to life in prison. He maintained his innocence throughout his incarceration.
Centurion Ministries, a New Jersey-based innocence organization, first approached the Dallas County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit about the case in 2008.
Earlier DNA testing failed to produce conclusive results, but in 2021, investigators reopened the case and ordered additional testing.
New DNA testing on a Dallas Stars jersey recovered near the crime scene helped investigators identify Nevarez, who was located and arrested in Colorado.
The discovery helped unravel the case against Santillan, who was released from prison in December 2022.
In March 2023, a Dallas County judge dismissed the murder charge against Santillan, formally clearing his name after more than 25 years of wrongful imprisonment.
At the time of his exoneration, Creuzot explained how the DNA evidence helped establish that the wrong man had been convicted.
“Bottom line is Mr. Santillan’s DNA was never on the jersey that we know that the perpetrator of the crime was wearing,” Creuzot said at the time.
“Their evidence really consisted of a lone eyewitness,” said Paul Casteleiro, an attorney with Centurion Ministries.
The organization had championed Santillan’s case for years, arguing that flawed police work and unreliable eyewitness identification had put an innocent man behind bars.
A long-awaited moment of freedom
For Santillan and his family, the March 2023 exoneration marked the end of a painful chapter that had lasted more than two decades.
CBS News Texas was there as Santillan celebrated his freedom, surrounded by loved ones outside the courthouse.
“Now it is, even though I’ve been out for a few days now, it’s real… now, it’s over!” Santillan said.
As he made his way through a sea of warm wishes and emotional hugs from family members and friends, Santillan eventually pulled off the heavy ivory sweater he’d worn to court.
Underneath, Santillan wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “I didn’t do it.”
For his family, the celebration was bittersweet, with years of missed milestones and losses that could never be recovered.
“It’s been very hard, very hard,” said Mayte Cantu, Santillan’s sister, as tears filled her eyes. “Sad [that] he wasn’t able to be here when family members passed, especially my Mom.”
But outside the courthouse that day in March 2023, Santillan was focused on the joy of finally being free.
“That’s the reaction – smiles,” said Santillan, showing a wide smile as he posed for pictures with his family on the courthouse steps, “Whole bunch of smiles.”
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