Dominc Montoya sentencing delayed due to self-inflicted wounds

Dominic Montoya was to be sentenced Saturday for the murder of fellow inmate Adam Avalos. All that changed when it was discovered he was in possession of a blade and had inflicted wounds on his arms and slashed his neck, according to the Third Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

In a press release, the District Attorney states, Las Cruces Police SWAT team was dispatched and Montoya was immediately transported to the Trauma Unit at University Medical Center in El Paso, TX for medical attention.

Judge Douglas Driggers requested Deputy District Attorney Gerald Byers draft an order citing that should Montoya cause any further disruption at the next hearing a sentence would be determined without his presence.

A new date for sentencing will be set.

Montoya is waiting to learn what his sentence will be for killing a fellow inmate at the Dona Ana County Detention Center.

Montoya faces 24 more years in prison. In June, a jury found him guilty of second degree murder for the 2006 death of Adam Avalos.

Montoya, who was already serving a sentence for a 1997 murder, attacked Avalos with a razor in the prison shower.