Suspect in killing of ‘J.B.’ White will be tried as adult
Witnesses at hearing tell of fighting, fatal shooting
SANTA FE — Seventeen-year-old Estevan Montoya will officially face adult charges in the death of Fedonta “J.B.” White, the former Santa Fe High basketball star killed nearly a month ago.
First Judicial District Judge T. Glenn Ellington ruled Wednesday that Montoya would face four charges: an open count of murder, negligent use of a handgun, unlawful possession of a handgun and tampering with evidence.
Prosecutors called multiple witnesses to aid the state’s case for adult charges, which District Attorney Marco Serna had previously said his office would seek.
Many witnesses testified about a terrifying and ugly scene before and after the shooting, which happened during a party at a home in Chupadero, north of Santa Fe, where several teenagers were drinking alcohol.
Photos of White’s body were displayed
during the hearing, which was conducted via videoconference. Breathing equipment was still strapped to his face and a small crimson hole could be seen in the right side of White’s chest.
Chris McKnight said he was inside the house trying to break up another fight when he heard a gunshot outside. One of his friends came running into the house, crying.
“He was like, ‘Chris, Chris. They shot J.B.,’” McKnight said. “I ran outside immediately and saw J.B. on the floor.”
He said he began treating the wound and asked White who had shot him.
“Estevan,” White replied. “But please get me to the hospital or I’m gonna die.”
Multiple witnesses, many of them minors, testified that they saw a fight break out between White and Montoya, one of many that night.
Prosecutors said Montoya instigated the fighting by approaching White, who was attempting to break up another altercation, and saying, “You don’t want none of this smoke?”
Several witnesses said White and Montoya attempted to punch one another but missed. Montoya then started running away, pulled a small handgun out of his waistband and shot White in the chest, Chief Deputy District Attorney Blake Nichols said.
Defense attorney Dan Marlowe did not dispute that Montoya was the shooter but questioned whether White was the instigator in the fight.
“I think that’s questionable that he was,” he said.
Marlowe hinted in a previous hearing that Montoya may have acted in self-defense. He also told the Journal in a phone interview a week after the shooting that he had learned more about White and believed the basketball star “was real mean.” He cited White being called for technical fouls during basketball games as an example.
Witnesses said that Montoya and others at the party belonged to a gang called the “Southside Goons.”
White was the third Santa Fe teenager killed in a two-month period. Authorities have not said if any of the deaths are connected, although one witness said Montoya was wearing a shirt memorializing the death of Ivan “Money Mando” Perez, a 17-year-old shot and killed during a fight in July.
In one incident report of White’s death, witnesses told a Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office deputy that Montoya kept mentioning Perez that night.
“Witnesses stated Estevan kept saying they were honoring Mando,” the report states.
The same report details the chaotic scene as medical workers attempted to remove White from the car he had been driven in so they could take him to the hospital. A group of about 20 teenagers was surrounding White’s body.
“I began to grabbed (grab) individuals out of the way,” the deputy’s report states, adding many were screaming at the time. “Some of them became combative towards deputies stating, ‘If he dies, (it) is your fault.’”
Many of the teenagers then fled in their cars, with the deputy noting that many of them smelled of alcohol before driving away.
Montoya is being held at the San Juan County Juvenile Detention Facility, where he has been participating in hearings electronically.
Wednesday’s hearing had many technical difficulties, with Ellington having to ask witnesses several times to repeat themselves because they were unintelligible.