Second man sentenced for 2019 Killeen gang-related murder

“This was a completely random act of violence; Mr. Santiago just happened to be there,” said Assistant District Attorney John Erskine, in his closing arguments on Tuesday. “They all shot and they all are equally responsible.”

On Tuesday, Judge Paul LePak sentenced Eric David Madden, 25, to a term of 30 years in prison. Madden already had pleaded guilty on Feb. 10, 2022, to a first-degree felony charge of murder. A plea agreement called for a sentence of between 20 to 40 years.

He is the second man to be sentenced to a prison term for the murder of Santiago. On Aug. 5, 2022, Dexter Garvard Washington, 50, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Two co-defendants, both of whom are sons of Dexter Washington, are set to face a jury on May 8, also in the 264th Judicial District Court: Shyheem Jubar Washington, 24, and Javonte Jervar Washington, 19. Javonte Washington was 15 years old at the time of the incident.

JUNE 18, 2019

Killeen police on June 18, 2019, were dispatched to the area of Fleetwood Drive and Greengate Drive after receiving numerous 911 calls about gunshots. There, police found a man with gunshot wounds to his legs and torso, according to the arrest affidavit. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

Police used witness statements and surveillance video evidence to develop the four men as suspects.

“We already were familiar with the Washingtons and Mr. Madden,” said KPD Detective Matilda Uvalle, during her testimony on Tuesday. “They were known for getting in trouble, for robberies, assaults and beating up people.”

Hours after the shooting, a Chrysler was located traveling with a gold Nissan in the 3300 block of Stan Schlueter Loop. The four men were in the two cars.

“They located Shyheem Washington and Eric Madden in a vehicle, which police searched and found two handguns that (later) were linked to shell casings at the scene,” Uvalle said.

She said that gunshot residue was found on Madden’s clothes and his DNA was located on a 9-mm handgun used in the murder.

“That leads me to believe that he was a shooter,” Uvalle said.

During the afternoon hearing, LePak heard from Madden’s father, mother and grandmother, who all asked the judge for leniency.

Madden’s father, Anthony Fitzgerald, changed his life for the better after serving his own prison term following a string of arrests in Bell and Coryell counties in the 2000s. Fitzgerald was sentenced in 2010, also in a Bell County courtroom, to multiple years in prison and since has been released from his parole.

“I was given the opportunity to redirect my life and I got a second chance,” Fitzgerald said. “Now I work in an office and I’m open about my past but people can’t believe it. When I got out, I decided I’d make a difference.”

However, the lessons a father has to teach can be difficult to impart on a son in trouble.

“After I got out in 2017, me, his mother and his grandmother were trying to help him stay on the right path because the signs were there,” Fitzgerald said. “He was a person who was misled. We can’t avoid this tragedy, so I’m not saying to let him out in one or two years. I’m asking the court to show the same mercy it showed me.”

The state’s prosecutor urged the judge not to forget the victim, or his mother and father who were in the courtroom.

“This family is permanently changed,” Erskine said. “Mr. Santiago’s mother and father will never get the chance to see or hear their son again, and that’s because of Mr. Madden.”