Suspended S.F. High student accused of making lethal threats
Girl’s mother had recently sought restraining order against 18-year-old
A recently suspended Santa Fe High
School student is accused of sending threatening messages saying he was going to shoot a girl at the school whose mother had recently sought a restraining order against him.
Ezekiel Montoya, 18, went to the school around 1:15 p.m. Thursday and was waiting in the building where the girl had her next class, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.
Less than an hour earlier, Montoya had sent a Snapchat message to a mutual friend, stating, “What’s up now I’m going there now I’ll shoot that [expletive] now.” Police later found a gun in Montoya’s pickup, the complaint states.
Montoya had been suspended from the school because of a previous incident. News releases from the Santa Fe Police Department and Santa Fe Public Schools did not say why he was suspended or what occurred in the previous incident.
Santa Fe Public Schools spokesman David Carl said there was no additional information other than what was provided in the district’s news release.
When Santa Fe police arrived Thursday at the school, they learned that two girls had gone to Dean of Students Stan Mascareñas to report the threatening messages, the complaint states. During that time, school security escorted Montoya off the property, but they did not know if he had a gun with him while he was in the building.
Montoya then left campus in his white Dodge pickup, and police pulled him over on Richards Avenue, the complaint states. Although he turned off his truck, Montoya did not follow the officer’s instructions to exit the vehicle with his hands visible and remained sitting inside.
One officer provided lethal coverage of Montoya’s vehicle, meaning they had their patrol rifle or handgun out, while another officer provided coverage with a nonlethal weapon as they negotiated with him, the complaint states.
Montoya got out of the vehicle about 10 minutes later and told officers he had a gun, identified as a black Taurus pistol, underneath his seat and that it had been inside his vehicle while he was on school property, the complaint states.
Montoya has been charged with one count of unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon on school premises, a fourth-degree felony. He also was charged with a single count each of unlawful carrying of a handgun by a person under the age of 19; use of a telephone to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend; and trespassing, all of which are misdemeanors.
The District Attorney’s Office filed a motion to delay Montoya’s first court appearance to investigate whether it will file a motion for pretrial detention. He is scheduled to appear before Magistrate David Segura on Monday afternoon.
The mother of the girl Montoya allegedly threatened to shoot had sought a temporary restraining order against him after he threatened to punch her daughter in the face, as well as saying he would kill both of them and shoot up their house, according to a Jan. 9 application for a civil restraining order filed in District Court.
District Judge Matthew Wilson granted the temporary restraining order against Montoya on Jan. 10 and scheduled a hearing for Wednesday, but court records indicate Montoya had not been served with a summons at that time. It’s unclear whether the temporary restraining order was in effect when police said Montoya went to the school and threatened the girl.