New trial date set for teen accused of murder

Managing editor

[email protected]

A new trial date has been set for a Portales teen accused of killing an Eastern New Mexico University student, but DeAngelo Montoya will remain in custody until the trial.

File photo

DeAngelo Montoya, now 18, will remain in custody until his new

murder trial begins in February.

Montoya, now 18, was arrested in 2009 when he was 13. He was convicted of second-degree murder in 2011 and sentenced to a juvenile facility where he was expected to remain until the age of 21.

But that conviction has been reversed because an appeals court found that Montoya’s statements to investigators were inadmissible because his age precluded him from waiving his Fifth Amendment rights.

Authorities say Montoya killed Angel Vale in 2009.

Montoya appeared at a court hearing Friday in the Roosevelt County Courthouse to determine when his new trial would be and if he would remain incarcerated.

Judge Drew Tatum set a trial date for Feb. 1-5 and determined Montoya will remain incarcerated in the Roosevelt County Detention Center until then.

Deputy District Attorney Brian Stover asked Tatum to keep the teen incarcerated, because he could be a danger to himself and others.

Defense Attorney Chris Christensen argued Montoya should be freed.

“There is not a single incident in the last five years that indicates DeAngelo is a danger to himself and others,” Christensen told the court.

Stover countered that the fact Christensen asked that Montoya be allowed to stay with relatives in Clovis for “his own personal safety” contradicted that.

“While he is supervised and in a controlled environment, he is doing well,” Stover said.

Tatum ruled that due to the seriousness of the charges against Montoya, he would remain incarcerated until the trial.