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Run-ins with law
part of suspect's past KYTJA WEIR AND GARY L. WRIGHTkweir@charlotteobserver.com function PopupPic(sPicURL, sHeight, sWidth) { window.open( "/static/popup.html?"+sPicURL, "", "resizable=1,HEIGHT=" +sHeight+ ",WIDTH=" +sWidth); } Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery
Sean Clark
Visitation: 5 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Funeral: 11 a.m. Thursday.
Jeff Shelton
Visitation: 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Funeral: 11 a.m. Friday.
•All events except burials are at Calvary Church, 5801 Pineville-Matthews Road in Charlotte.
HOW OFFICERS HAVE BEEN KILLED
In the United States in 2005, the latest year for which data was available: •55 law enforcement officers were killed in 53 incidents.
•15 officers were slain during traffic pursuits or traffic stops.
•Eight officers were killed during arrest situations.
•Eight officers were killed when ambushed.
•30 of the 50 officers killed with firearms were wearing body armor when they were fatally wounded.
•28 of the 55 slain officers worked for departments in the South, more than all other regions of the country combined.
The 25-year-old man accused of gunning down two police officers over the weekend is a high school dropout and father of two who had accrued a record of confrontation with police starting at age 16.
His arrest history includes running from police, resisting arrest and bumping an officer in the chest.
But Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery, 25, had never been charged with a felony as an adult in North Carolina until Sunday. He now faces two first-degree murder counts.
Officers Jeff Shelton, 35, and Sean Clark, 34, were shot about 11:15 p.m. Saturday at the Timber Ridge apartment complex in east Charlotte during a struggle after they responded to an unrelated domestic disturbance call.
It was the first time in more than a decade that a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was slain in the line of duty.
As the community reels from the news, a possible motive remains unclear. But details emerged Monday about Montgomery.
The N.C. native has been convicted three times for assault -- once on a female and twice on a government official. He's also been convicted three times for resisting an officer and once for larceny.
He has never served a day in an N.C. prison, but he has spent time in the Mecklenburg jail.
Family members have told the Observer that he has been stressed since his mother died in a fire last year. Police and local fire officials said they have not been able to confirm which fire, but said they have no reason to doubt his family.
The Observer contacted some of Montgomery's relatives, but they declined to comment further. However, police have said they are cooperating fully with investigators.
Police also declined to comment directly about Montgomery on Monday, saying they are still investigating and don't want to jeopardize the case.
The Observer has pieced together details about the man through police reports, court records and interviews.
A trail of charges
Montgomery, whose first name is sometimes spelled Demetrius in police records, was born in Mecklenburg County in 1981.He attended South Mecklenburg High but dropped out in 1999 as an 11th grader, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said.
He does not appear to have ties to local gangs. He is not listed in the Police Department's gang database, said Sgt. Donn Belz.
Montgomery has lived at addresses in Pineville and homes around Charlotte. He also appears to have lived in Colorado in 2001 and 2002.
A trail of misdemeanor criminal charges followed his moves, many involving resistance against authorities.
•Before he dropped out of South Meck, Montgomery was arrested in 1998, charged with larceny and resisting a public officer. He was 16. Juvenile records for children under 16 are not public so it's not clear if that was his first run-in with law enforcement.
•In 2004, he was arrested when a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer said he spotted him speeding out of an apartment complex and pulled him over.
In an affidavit, the police officer said Montgomery started yelling out the window as he was pulled over and asked why the officer was harassing him.
When the police officer asked for his driver's license, Montgomery began yelling, got out of the car and rushed toward the officer, according to the affidavit. The officer wrote that Montgomery "came face to face" with him and bumped him in the chest.
The officer told Montgomery to put his hands on the hood of the patrol car.
He recalled Montgomery's words: "You are a small man and I am going to hurt you."
Jail records list Montgomery as 5 feet 4 inches and weighing 180 pounds.
The officer wrote that he felt Montgomery would carry out his threat.
Backup officers were called to the scene. The officer said Montgomery continued to be combative and had to be physically restrained.
Montgomery pleaded guilty to the assault charge. The communicating threats and resisting arrest charges were dropped. He was sentenced to 45 days for assault on a government official.
•Also in 2004, Montgomery was arrested for hitting the mother of his two children. The police report said he punched the woman on the side of the face several times at their northeast Charlotte apartment, leaving red marks and a bloodshot eye. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, which records show he violated in 2005.
The woman has since moved from North Carolina, public records show. She could not be reached for comment Monday.
•Last year, Montgomery was convicted of having an open container of beer on a public street and resisting arrest.
In an affidavit, the arresting officer reported pulling up beside Montgomery after spotting him drinking a bottle of beer while walking. The officer told Montgomery that he could not have an open container in public and directed him to pour the rest of the beer out.
Montgomery, the officer said, drank the rest of the beer.
When informed of his arrest, Montgomery ran, the officer said.
The officer caught up to him a block away. Montgomery was charged with having an open container and resisting an officer. Montgomery pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to three days in jail.
Protective custody
Before his most recent arrest, Montgomery was living with his grandmother in southeast Charlotte near Mint Hill, records show.
That's just over four miles from the apartments where Shelton and Clark were shot Saturday. It's not clear why Montgomery might have been at the complex that night.
Neighbors of his grandmother said he would often ride his bicycle around her neighborhood alone. They also said they never noticed Montgomery hanging out with others.
Montgomery is being held without bond at Mecklenburg County's central jail in uptown, jail records show.
Officials were holding him in protective custody -- both for his safety and the safety of the jail's detention officers, Mecklenburg Sheriff's Office's spokeswoman Julia Rush said.
Detention officers have been checking on Montgomery every 15 minutes. Rush said he's been lying on his mattress or pacing. He is slated to appear in court for his first court appearance today.
CHARLOTTE POLICE OFFICERS SLAIN
Have a Tip?
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are still gathering evidence on Saturday's fatal shootings of Officer Sean Clark and Officer Jeff Shelton. They ask anyone who saw the shooting or has information about it to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Staff writers Dánica Coto and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Staff Librarian Marion Paynter contributed.
Courteousy of the Charlotte Observer www.charlotte.com
Run-ins with law
part of suspect's past KYTJA WEIR AND GARY L. WRIGHTkweir@charlotteobserver.com function PopupPic(sPicURL, sHeight, sWidth) { window.open( "/static/popup.html?"+sPicURL, "", "resizable=1,HEIGHT=" +sHeight+ ",WIDTH=" +sWidth); } Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery
- Kevin Siers | Tribute to fallen officer
- Jeffrey Shelton | Post condolences, memories
- Sean Clark | Post condolences, memories
- Timeline | The suspect's record
- Where children play, and violence looms
- `Our hearts are broken'
- Sympathy offered in varied ways
- Appeals may be ending for '93 killer
- Slain in line of duty
Sean Clark
Visitation: 5 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Funeral: 11 a.m. Thursday.
Jeff Shelton
Visitation: 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Funeral: 11 a.m. Friday.
•All events except burials are at Calvary Church, 5801 Pineville-Matthews Road in Charlotte.
HOW OFFICERS HAVE BEEN KILLED
In the United States in 2005, the latest year for which data was available: •55 law enforcement officers were killed in 53 incidents.
•15 officers were slain during traffic pursuits or traffic stops.
•Eight officers were killed during arrest situations.
•Eight officers were killed when ambushed.
•30 of the 50 officers killed with firearms were wearing body armor when they were fatally wounded.
•28 of the 55 slain officers worked for departments in the South, more than all other regions of the country combined.
The 25-year-old man accused of gunning down two police officers over the weekend is a high school dropout and father of two who had accrued a record of confrontation with police starting at age 16.
His arrest history includes running from police, resisting arrest and bumping an officer in the chest.
But Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery, 25, had never been charged with a felony as an adult in North Carolina until Sunday. He now faces two first-degree murder counts.
Officers Jeff Shelton, 35, and Sean Clark, 34, were shot about 11:15 p.m. Saturday at the Timber Ridge apartment complex in east Charlotte during a struggle after they responded to an unrelated domestic disturbance call.
It was the first time in more than a decade that a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was slain in the line of duty.
As the community reels from the news, a possible motive remains unclear. But details emerged Monday about Montgomery.
The N.C. native has been convicted three times for assault -- once on a female and twice on a government official. He's also been convicted three times for resisting an officer and once for larceny.
He has never served a day in an N.C. prison, but he has spent time in the Mecklenburg jail.
Family members have told the Observer that he has been stressed since his mother died in a fire last year. Police and local fire officials said they have not been able to confirm which fire, but said they have no reason to doubt his family.
The Observer contacted some of Montgomery's relatives, but they declined to comment further. However, police have said they are cooperating fully with investigators.
Police also declined to comment directly about Montgomery on Monday, saying they are still investigating and don't want to jeopardize the case.
The Observer has pieced together details about the man through police reports, court records and interviews.
A trail of charges
Montgomery, whose first name is sometimes spelled Demetrius in police records, was born in Mecklenburg County in 1981.He attended South Mecklenburg High but dropped out in 1999 as an 11th grader, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said.
He does not appear to have ties to local gangs. He is not listed in the Police Department's gang database, said Sgt. Donn Belz.
Montgomery has lived at addresses in Pineville and homes around Charlotte. He also appears to have lived in Colorado in 2001 and 2002.
A trail of misdemeanor criminal charges followed his moves, many involving resistance against authorities.
•Before he dropped out of South Meck, Montgomery was arrested in 1998, charged with larceny and resisting a public officer. He was 16. Juvenile records for children under 16 are not public so it's not clear if that was his first run-in with law enforcement.
•In 2004, he was arrested when a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer said he spotted him speeding out of an apartment complex and pulled him over.
In an affidavit, the police officer said Montgomery started yelling out the window as he was pulled over and asked why the officer was harassing him.
When the police officer asked for his driver's license, Montgomery began yelling, got out of the car and rushed toward the officer, according to the affidavit. The officer wrote that Montgomery "came face to face" with him and bumped him in the chest.
The officer told Montgomery to put his hands on the hood of the patrol car.
He recalled Montgomery's words: "You are a small man and I am going to hurt you."
Jail records list Montgomery as 5 feet 4 inches and weighing 180 pounds.
The officer wrote that he felt Montgomery would carry out his threat.
Backup officers were called to the scene. The officer said Montgomery continued to be combative and had to be physically restrained.
Montgomery pleaded guilty to the assault charge. The communicating threats and resisting arrest charges were dropped. He was sentenced to 45 days for assault on a government official.
•Also in 2004, Montgomery was arrested for hitting the mother of his two children. The police report said he punched the woman on the side of the face several times at their northeast Charlotte apartment, leaving red marks and a bloodshot eye. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, which records show he violated in 2005.
The woman has since moved from North Carolina, public records show. She could not be reached for comment Monday.
•Last year, Montgomery was convicted of having an open container of beer on a public street and resisting arrest.
In an affidavit, the arresting officer reported pulling up beside Montgomery after spotting him drinking a bottle of beer while walking. The officer told Montgomery that he could not have an open container in public and directed him to pour the rest of the beer out.
Montgomery, the officer said, drank the rest of the beer.
When informed of his arrest, Montgomery ran, the officer said.
The officer caught up to him a block away. Montgomery was charged with having an open container and resisting an officer. Montgomery pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to three days in jail.
Protective custody
Before his most recent arrest, Montgomery was living with his grandmother in southeast Charlotte near Mint Hill, records show.
That's just over four miles from the apartments where Shelton and Clark were shot Saturday. It's not clear why Montgomery might have been at the complex that night.
Neighbors of his grandmother said he would often ride his bicycle around her neighborhood alone. They also said they never noticed Montgomery hanging out with others.
Montgomery is being held without bond at Mecklenburg County's central jail in uptown, jail records show.
Officials were holding him in protective custody -- both for his safety and the safety of the jail's detention officers, Mecklenburg Sheriff's Office's spokeswoman Julia Rush said.
Detention officers have been checking on Montgomery every 15 minutes. Rush said he's been lying on his mattress or pacing. He is slated to appear in court for his first court appearance today.
CHARLOTTE POLICE OFFICERS SLAIN
Have a Tip?
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are still gathering evidence on Saturday's fatal shootings of Officer Sean Clark and Officer Jeff Shelton. They ask anyone who saw the shooting or has information about it to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Staff writers Dánica Coto and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Staff Librarian Marion Paynter contributed.
Courteousy of the Charlotte Observer www.charlotte.com