A Montgomery County jury needed less than an hour to convict Anthony Lawrence Green, 32, of capital murder, and on Monday a judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The case traces back to a January 2024 home invasion near Cleveland in which 37-year-old Steven Santillan, a father of three, was shot five times in the back while reaching for a firearm beside his bed.
A Year-Long Manhunt Ends in New Orleans
Green and several other men from Harris County forced their way into the Cleveland-area home on January 25, 2024, looking for drugs and money, according to montgomerycountypolicereporter.com. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said three masked men entered the home and shot the husband multiple times before fleeing, and identified the deceased man as Santillan, of Montgomery County. His wife and three daughters were inside the home during the invasion, according to the same report.
Green escaped that night and evaded capture for more than a year while investigators searched for him, per the trial report. He was ultimately located in New Orleans, Louisiana, and taken into custody with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. A crime-stoppers page run by Solve the Case states he was arrested in New Orleans on April 24, 2025, after a tip was submitted to Multi-County Crime Stoppers, while the trial report describes him being found there and arrested with marshals' help without specifying that exact date.
Digital Evidence Built the Case
The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office led the investigation, and the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office Digital Forensics Unit conducted an extensive analysis that helped identify Green and reconstruct events surrounding the killing, according to the police reporter's account. Prosecutors presented surveillance video, cell phone records, location data, digital forensic evidence, and testimony from co-defendants during trial.
Three other men arrested the night of the shooting remained in the Montgomery County Jail awaiting trial, the report states. Accounts differ on the identity of one of those co-defendants: montgomerycountypolicereporter.com names a 29-year-old man as Derrick Williams, while a separate ABC13 report lists a 27-year-old suspect named Derrick Wilson among those connected to the Santillan case. Hoodline could not verify which version is correct.
Prosecutors and Family React
The case was handled in the 435th District Court, presided over by Judge Patty Maginnis, with prosecutors Brittney Aaron and Amy Waddle trying the case.
As reported by Bluebonnet News, Waddle credited investigators for pursuing Green after he fled Texas and said investigators spent more than a year assembling the case against him. Aaron said the verdict ensures one responsible man will never walk free again. Montgomery County District Attorney Mike Holley said Green's conviction demonstrates that participants in violent crimes can be held accountable even if they did not fire the fatal shots.
The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office also recognized the Splendora Police Department, which identified the getaway vehicle that night — a tip that helped authorities apprehend three suspects the same night as the killing — along with the Montgomery County Pct. 4 Constable's Office, which provided K-9 assistance in locating a fleeing suspect, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, and forensic investigators for their roles in the case.
