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FARMINGTON — Charges have been reduced for two parents accused of taking their two daughters, whom they no longer have custody of, and triggering an Amber Alert when they allegedly fled to New Mexico.
Christopher John Montoya, 35, and Monica Jody Martinez, 27, were originally charged with two counts each of child kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and one count of burglary, a second-degree felony.
Martinez pleaded guilty June 28 to two reduced counts of custodial interference, a third-degree felony, while the burglary charge was dropped. Sentencing has been set for Aug. 16.
Amended charges of custodial interference were also filed for Montoya as he appeared in court Wednesday. Montoya has not entered a plea in the case and will return for a hearing next Tuesday.
According to police, Montoya and Martinez took their two daughters, 3-year-old Marae Montoya and 11-month-old Cynthia Montoya, from the Clinton home where they were being cared for on the afternoon of May 5.
The incident triggered an Amber Alert, which was seen by an alert Motel 6 clerk in Gallup, New Mexico, who recognized the couple when they requested a room about 4 a.m. the next day. The attendant checked Montoya into a room, verified that his vehicle matched the one in the Amber Alert, and notified police.
Officers arrested the couple without incident and recovered the children. Montoya and Martinez were extradited to Utah last month.
The couple no longer has custody of the girls and has a no-contact court order in place due to a history of domestic violence with the children present, according to a warrant for their arrest.
The couple went to a Division of Child and Family Services office in Clearfield on May 5 before allegedly taking the children. Montoya was "very combative, threatening and agitated" and appeared to be under the influence of controlled substances, the warrant states.
The couple remained in the Davis County Jail Wednesday.
