City of Baldwin Park to pay $19M for 1990 wrongful conviction case
The City of Baldwin Park has settled a lawsuit brought against its police department by a man who spent over three decades in prison for a wrongful conviction in 1990.
As one of several agencies named in the lawsuit, the city agreed to settle its portion of the case for $19.1 million.
In May 2023, a California superior court declared Saldaña factually innocent. Then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said newly presented evidence found he was wrongfully convicted for a 1989 Baldwin Park shooting.
Saldaña was 22 years old at the time of the conviction and was 55 when he was freed.
"I just knew that one day this was going to come," Saldaña said in 2023. "I'm so grateful. I just thank God."
Saldaña was convicted for a shooting that occurred on October 27, 1989, when six high school students were shot at while driving after a football game in the area.
Prosecutors claimed that the suspects mistook the group of students for gang members and opened fire. Two were injured. Saldaña was charged along with two others with six counts of attempted murder and one count of shooting at an occupied vehicle.
He was sentenced to 45 years to life in prison. Attorneys for Saldaña said a Baldwin Park Police Department detective framed him for the drive-by shooting.
Gascón said in 2023 that one of the other defendants in the case disclosed during a 2017 parole hearing that Saldaña was not involved in the shooting and was not even present.
Despite this, the information was not presented to the District Attorney's office until early 2023, which led to an investigation that found Saldaña innocent.
"The City sincerely hopes Mr. Saldaña can now move forward in his new life," the City of Baldwin Park wrote in a news release.
The first installment of $16.1 million will be paid within 60 days. The remaining $3 million will be paid in annual installments over the next three years. About half of the settlement is paid through the city's liability insurance, and the rest will be paid from the city's general fund reserves.
"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," law firm partner Amelia Green said.
"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."
