Colorado man indicted in 1997 Deep Ellum murder case that led to wrongful conviction

A Colorado man is facing trial in Dallas County for a 1997 fatal shooting outside of a club in Deep Ellum after a different man was exonerated in the case earlier this year.

A Dallas County grand jury has indicted Michael Edward Nevarez, 43, in the fatal shooting of Damond Wittman outside the night club on the morning of July 14, 1997, online records showed. Nevarez was 16 years old at the time of the incident.

Martin Santillan, 49, who in 1998 had been convicted of capital murder in the slaying and sentenced to life in prison, was exonerated in March after spending more than 25 years behind bars.

“The indictment is a true step in the right direction to bring justice to the victims in this case — Mr. Wittman and his family and Mr. Santillan and his family. The case graphically illustrates that when Mr. Santillan was convicted despite his innocence, a guilty man walked free. But not anymore in Dallas,” said Paul Casteleiro, Santillan’s lawyer and legal director of New Jersey-based Centurion Ministries.

At the time of his trial, Santillan had provided an alibi to prove his innocence, but a jury found him guilty on the capital murder charge. No DNA evidence at the time had linked Santillan to the fatal shooting.

Investigators were able to connect the shooting to Nevarez, who was living in Colorado Springs, Colo., by using results from further DNA testing.

“We owe it to Mr. Santillan to clear his name fully and completely. I sincerely apologize to Mr. Santillan and his family for this miscarriage of justice and I am proud to say that today justice has been done for him,” Dallas County Criminal District Attorney John Creuzot had said in a March news release. “Also, let’s not forget the victim, Damond Wittman, and his family. This office is committed to work to hold accountable who we feel to be the actual perpetrator of this heinous crime.”