| For Immediate Release Case # 12ZF0136
April 30, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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MAN INDICTED BY GRAND JURY FOR SHOOTING-MURDER OF GIRLFRIEND IN FRONT OF THEIR THREE YOUNG CHILDREN
SANTA ANA – A man was indicted today by the Orange County Grand Jury for the shooting-murder of his girlfriend in front of their three children. Samuel Oscar Montes, 20, Anaheim, is charged with three felony counts of child abuse and endangerment, one felony count of murder, and one felony count of possession of a controlled substance with a sentencing enhancement allegation for the personal discharge of a firearm causing death. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum sentence of 50 years to life in state prison. The defendant is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment May 4, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-5, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office released a press release Sept. 15, 2011, with the following information on the Montes case:
At approximately 2:30 p.m., on Aug. 27, 2011, Montes is accused of arriving home and engaging in an argument with his 20-year-old girlfriend Nicole Gutierrez, the mother of his three children. The defendant is accused of escalating the argument into a fight about a gun in the house in front of their three children, 3-year-old John Doe #1, 1-year-old Jane Doe, and 1-month-old John Doe #2. While fighting, Montes is accused of taking hold of the gun, which went off, shooting Gutierrez once in the head. The defendant is accused of fleeing the scene.
A neighbor who heard the gunshot called 911. Anaheim Police Department (APD) officers arrived at the scene and found Gutierrez dead. APD investigated the case and arrested Montes, who is accused of being in possession of methamphetamines at the time of the arrest.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Howard Gundy of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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