Father sentenced to jail for taking noncustodial daughters to N.M., triggering Amber Alert

Father sentenced to jail for taking noncustodial daughters to N.M., triggering Amber Alert

(Composite photo, McKinley County Adult Detention)


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FARMINGTON — A father who triggered an Amber Alert when he fled to New Mexico with two daughters he no longer has custody of has been sentenced to jail.

Christopher John Montoya, 35, was sentenced Tuesday to 240 days in jail with credit for 109 days served, followed by 36 months' probation. Montoya pleaded guilty last month to two reduced counts of custodial interference, a third-degree felony. In exchange, a burglary charge was dropped.

Montoya and the girls' mother, Monica Jody Martinez, 27, were originally charged with two counts each of child kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and burglary, a second-degree felony.

Martinez, who admitted to the same charges, was sentenced last week to 150 days in jail with credit for time served.

According to police, Montoya and Martinez took their two daughters, ages 3 and 5, 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 and called police when they requested a room about 4 a.m. the next day.

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.

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McKenzie Romero

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