Attorneys told to continue prep for Montoya retrial

District Judge Drew Tatum told attorneys Monday to continue preparing for next week’s murder trial despite the fact that he is considering a motion to dismiss all charges.

Defense Attorney Chris Christensen made two motions to have charges dropped against his client, DeAngelo Montoya, at a hearing Monday.

At the age of 13, Montoya was tried and convicted of second-degree murder in 2011 after allegedly shooting and killing 21-year-old Portales college student Angel Vale. Montoya was placed in the state’s custody until the age of 21.

Now 18 years old, Montoya is set for a retrial next week regarding the charges after the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that authorities had not made sure the child was aware of his Fifth Amendment rights.

However, Christensen appealed to the court Monday to have charges dismissed due to “lack of probable cause” and for “discovery violations.”

Christensen told Tatum that the district attorney’s office originally charged Montoya with just larceny back in 2011 then increased the charges to first-degree murder, aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence without “probable cause” to do so.

“What new evidence was found to support the charges? None,” Christensen told the judge on Monday. “The probable cause the state has said they have does not exist.”

Deputy District Attorney Brian Stover countered that with a juvenile trial, the right to a probable cause hearing before trial does not exist, so “there is no mechanism under children’s court rules to carry forward with this motion.”

Tatum ruled against the motion but told attorneys he would further consider the motion regarding “discovery violations.”

In the motion, Christensen argued that he was never notified during the time of the original trial that the unidentifiable DNA found on the rifle that killed Vale was “of female origin.”

“When exculpatory evidence is not provided to the defense, that’s prejudice,” Christensen said, telling the judge that the male DNA found on the rifle was so minimal that lab technicians could not say with certainty if a male had come into contact with the weapon.

“Yes, it is a severe sanction,” Christensen said of requesting charges be dismissed due to the infraction. “(But) So is taking away someone’s freedom without proper evidence. The state had a duty. They did not do it.”

Stover countered the argument by saying the D.A.’s office made the fact that the defendant was eliminated as being a prospect for the DNA on the weapon very clear in the first trial, so the fact that the DNA was of a female origin is irrelevant, and the defense now has that particular information 17 days prior to the upcoming trial.

“They have withheld exculpatory information that could influence a jury,” argued Christensen. “It supports the fact that there is no DeAngelo Montoya DNA on that rifle, so yes, it is material.”

Montoya’s new trial is set to begin Monday.

Tatum told both attorneys to be prepared for trial, and he would provide his decision on the second motion no later than Thursday.