Mixed verdict in perjury trial of 3 retired Philly detectives

A mixed verdict was reached in the trial of three former Philadelphia police detectives who were accused of lying under oath during the 2016 retrial of a man who was wrongfully convicted of rape and murder.

The jury began deliberating on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in the trial of former detectives Martin Devlin, Manuel Santiago and Frank Jastrzembski.

The three men were accused of lying during the 2016 retrial of Anthony Wright, who spent two decades in prison after being wrongfully convicted of raping and murdering an elderly widow in 1991.

On Thursday, March 27, 2025, Devlin was acquitted on all charges, Jastrzembski was acquitted of all but one charge while Santiago was acquitted of all but two of the charges.

The case of Anthony Wright

In 1991, 20-year-old Anthony Wright was arrested and charged with raping and murdering an elderly widow. Wright was convicted of the crime two years later in 1993 and spent two decades in prison.

Wright’s conviction was overturned in 2014 however, after DNA evidence pointed to another suspect. Despite the DNA exclusion, Seth Williams – Philadelphia’s District Attorney at the time – chose to retry Wright in 2016, calling Devlin, Santiago and Jastrzembski out of retirement to testify.

The key piece of evidence remaining at the retrial was Wright’s confession. His lawyers argued that it was coerced. The detectives denied it.

Lawyer Sam Silver, representing Wright, asked Devlin to write down the nine-page confession in real time, as he said he had done “word for word” in 1991. The once-famed detective — who helped nab a New Jersey rabbi in his wife’s murder-for-hire — jotted down only six words before giving up.

Wright told jurors that police had made him sign the confession without reading it. They deliberated just a few minutes before acquitting him, and Wright, who spent 25 years in prison, later received a nearly $10 million settlement from the city.

Then in 2021, a grand jury indicted Devlin, Santiago and Jastrzembski. Santiago and Devlin were accused of lying about the confession. Santiago and Jastrzembski were accused of lying when they testified that they didn’t know about the DNA problem. Jastrzembski was also accused of lying about finding the victim’s clothes in Wright’s bedroom.

All three retired detectives – now in their 70s – were named in federal civil rights lawsuits, including Wright’s. The lawsuits accuse them of police misconduct and in some cases, coercing false confessions. The city of Philadelphia settled those lawsuits for a total of nearly $30 million but did not admit fault.

The perjury trial for the three former detectives was set to begin more than a year ago. Lawyers for the defense had tried to get the case tossed, however, arguing that inadmissible evidence was used during the grand jury proceedings that led to their indictment. Earlier in March 2025, the lawyers petitioned the Pennsylvania supreme court for extraordinary relief.

Their perjury trial finally began on Monday, March 17, 2025.

Within the first hour of Wednesday's deliberations, the jury had multiple questions about the case and focused on the 2016 and 2017 testimonies of Santiago and Jastrzembski in regards to their knowledge of DNA testing.

All three former detectives maintained their innocence and pleaded not guilty. None of the former detectives took the stand during their perjury trial. Wright took the stand last week and was in court during jury deliberations on Wednesday as well.

On Thursday, March 27, the jury reached a mixed verdict for the three former detectives. Here's a full breakdown:

Frank Jastrzembski

For false testimony at the 2016 retrial regarding the search of Anthony Wright's bedroom:

Not guilty of one count of perjury

Not guilty of one count of false swearing in official matters

For false testimony at the 2017 deposition regarding the search of Anthony Wright's bedroom:

Not guilty of one count of perjury

Not guilty of false swearing in official matters

For false testimony at the 2016 retrial regarding prior knowledge of the DNA results:

Guilty of one count of false swearing in official matters

Not guilty of one count of perjury

Marty Devlin

For false testimony at the 2016 retrial regarding the 1991 interrogation and confession of Anthony Wright:

Not guilty of one count of perjury

Not guilty of one count of false swearing in official matters

For false testimony at the 2017 deposition regarding the 1991 interrogation and confession of Anthony Wright:

Not guilty of one count of perjury

Not guilty of one count of false swearing in official matters

Manuel Santiago

For false testimony at the 2016 retrial regarding the 1991 interrogation and confession of Anthony Wright:

Not guilty of one count of perjury

Not guilty of one count of false swearing in official matters

For false testimony at the 2017 deposition regarding the 1991 interrogation and confession of Anthony Wright:

Not guilty of one count of perjury

Not guilty of one count of false swearing in official matters

For false testimony at the 2016 retrial regarding prior knowledge of the DNA results:

Guilty of one count of perjury

Guilty of one count of false swearing in official matters

Reactions from the defense attorneys and District Attorney Larry Krasner

Brian McMonagle, Devlin's attorney, spoke with the media following Thursday's verdict.

“Obviously, we’re elated with the jury’s verdict,” he said. “Jury worked very hard. We said from the beginning that Marty spent 45 years trying to right terrible wrongs and was innocent of these charges. The jury, I think in pretty quick fashion, resolved this case.”

Santiago's lawyer, Fortunato Perri, said the verdict showed his client did not fabricate a confession.

“Unfortunately, he was found guilty of a charge having to do with his confusion over the DNA evidence in the case, whatever his knowledge was prior to a certain trial, after the trial, that’s something we’re going to take a long, hard look at," Perri said.

Perri also said he plans to appeal the verdict.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, meanwhile, said he hopes the verdict serves as a lesson for other law enforcement officers.

“We think that this verdict sends a very, very important message," Krasner said after Thursday's verdict. "That I hope everybody who participates in law enforcement will feel in here. And that message is number one you don’t know everything. You don’t know everything. You don’t know. Just because you think you know who committed a crime. The evidence knows.”

Sentencing for Santiago and Jastrzembski has not been set yet. Krasner did not reveal what sentencing his office would seek but said perjury normally carries about nine months in prison while a misdemeanor charge of false swearing can be up to three months.

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