MILAN, N.M. – The Village of Milan Police Department went on the offensive to counter crime in the village, an initiative that led to the arrest of alleged murderer Anthony Montoya. Montoya was wanted on a warrant out of Grants Police Department for an alleged incident which took place in July.
Milan Police Officers frequent village restaurants for their lunch, while enjoying lunch officers heard about Montoya and that was in the area. Sergeant Joe Galindo is not stranger to Montoya, having handled previous aggravated stalking cases involving him.
Sgt. Galindo searched for Montoya’s car and quickly found it cruising in Milan, after waiting for his chance to go through an intersection, Sgt. Galindo discovered the car was abandoned outside of a vacant home. Confirming the car’s ownership with dispatch, Sgt. Galindo could say with certainty that Montoya had just left the car. “He must have seen me and took off,” Sgt. Galindo remarked.
New Mexico State Police officers arrived at the scene to assist Sgt. Galindo in finding Montoya, who was not discovered on the property. Instead, Sgt. Galindo began to search a nearby arroyo, checking tunnels inside the arroyo while state officers assisted. NMSP discovered Montoya first, ordering him to place his hands above his head, Sgt. Galindo quickly assisted and took Montoya into custody over the warrant.
Montoya’s long-awaited arrest comes after months on the run. Back in July Cibola County Regional Dispatch received a call for ambulance services, the victim was dead by the time they reached the hospital but no determination for cause of death was made by responding teams. A coroner’s report discovered that the victim died of blunt force trauma to the head. Grants Police Department made the determination that Montoya was responsible for the trauma and a warrant was put out for his arrest.
Montoya spent four months absconding from the law, but was finally caught.