Probation officers wanted Pueblo murder suspect sent back to jail one week before fatal shooting

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- More questions than answers are emerging from past court records of a man now arrested for murder in Pueblo. The most alarming of these are the actions taken by his probation officers mere days before allegedly shooting and killing a family member.

46-year-old William Montoya is charged with 1st-degree murder. Pueblo Police arrested Montoya at the 50 block of Drake St. in south Pueblo shortly after finding an adult male dead at an apartment complex off Amherst Ave shortly after 1 A.M. on the 4th of July. Police say they were able to link Montoya to that shooting.

13 Investigates uncovered that Montoya has a history of violence against family members. Back in 2021, he was arrested and charged with felony assault by the Pueblo County Sheriff's office. According to court documents, Montoya threatened to harm himself with a knife before throwing his own father out of a window.

Montoya struck a plea deal with the 10th Judicial District Attorney's office, a deal that dismissed that felony assault charge, and instead, Montoya pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault. Following the guilty plea, District Judge Allison Ernst sentenced Montoya to two years on supervised probation.

If he violated any of the terms of his probation, he could be sent to jail for 60 days, court records show. However, one week before the 4th of July, Pueblo County probation officer Alex Cunningham filed records with the judge asking for Montoya's probation to be revoked and for the jail sentence to be imposed.

In those documents, filed on June 27, Cunningham outlines how Montoya has failed to comply with multiple conditions of his probation, some of which show a need for mental health help.

Montoya was ordered to seek mental health treatment at Gateway to Success in Colorado Springs on June 29, 2022, but he failed to show or provide verification that he sought help. This happened again when Montoya failed to enroll into "medication-assisted treatment" on June 30, 2022.

What kind of mental health condition Montoya was suffering from is unclear. The probation revocation documents do not expand on why there was a need for mental health treatment in Montoya's case. 13 Investigates reached out to the 4th Judicial District's probation department in Colorado Springs for comment, but we haven't heard back.

Montoya's problems on probation continued when, as his probation officer outlines, he was missing mandatory appointment dates over and over again. For three straight months, from April to June of 2023, Montoya missed scheduled appointments, despite probation officers sending appointment letters to his address.

It's also unclear why it took nearly a year since Montoya's first misstep on probation for those in charge to file documents requesting a warrant for his arrest. Before Montoya's arrest, 13 Investigates sat down with Pueblo County DA Jeff Chostner to discuss cases similar to this one, where his office is now prosecuting someone again for far more serious crimes than before.

"You're dealing with parole regulations and to some extent probation. There's all kinds of other agencies that get involved in this, that modify that initial sentence so we can come out of the court thinking that we've done our job and have done it adequately," Chostner said. "Victims can be satisfied with the work we've done, and then that gets chiseled away. Before you know it, somebody is out on the street in a shorter period of time than what I believe should be the case, and certainly what the victims believe should be the case."

Chostner said his office has a great relationship with local parole and probation officers. However, he believes the higher-ups in charge of both entities' desire to hold criminals accountable is lacking.

"We have made this complaint before. We've made it to some of our legislative friends. This is an issue where people who are actually granted the grace of being on parole or probation, if they comply with certain conditions, break those conditions, and there's no penalty for it. That's coming from Denver, not our local folks," Chostner said.

The exact allegations Montoya faces will not be released until he is advised of his charges on Thursday. Pueblo Police said Wednesday that he could face additional charges as they interview more people who were on scene at the time of the shooting. The victim's name has not yet been released by the Pueblo County Coroner.