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SALT LAKE CITY — Five years after a man was shot and killed in front of his family on the Navajo Reservation, a Bluff man was ordered Monday to spend 25 years in prison for the murder.
On April 13, 2018, Perry Maryboy, 59, shot and killed Antonio Montowine on the reservation, about 2.5 miles from state Route 191 south of Bluff, according to court records. Both Maryboy and Montowine are members of the Navajo Nation.
A federal jury convicted Maryboy on May 18 of murder in the second degree while within Indian Country, and the use, carry and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge David Nuffer sentenced Maryboy to 15 years for the murder conviction and 10 years for the firearm conviction, adding up to a total of 25 years in prison. Nuffer also ordered four years of supervised release.
"Taking a life without apparent justification is an extremely serious matter and doing it in a violent way is extremely serious," Nuffer said in a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Utah.
According to court documents and evidence presented at the May jury trial, Maryboy was parked along the side of the road at the intersection of Country Road 443 and Summerhouse Road when Montowine, his wife and 7-year-old drove by looking for a lost pet on their family property.
Montowine asked Maryboy to leave the property, per the district attorney's office. Maryboy left his truck, grabbed a revolver from the backseat, loaded it and fired two shots at Montowine as he walked away, hitting him once in the back of the head, prosecutors said.
Montowine died at the scene in front of his family. Maryboy left in his truck and was later arrested at his home following an investigation.
"This was no accident," Nuffer said in the statement. "My view of that is confirmed by later facts when Mr. Maryboy made no assistance at the scene."
"Mr. Maryboy's violent act took the life of another person, causing great loss to his family and friends, who will bear the burden of this crime. That harm cannot be undone," Trina A. Higgins, U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah, said in the statement. "We appreciate the work of law enforcement, victim service providers and the prosecutors in this case who worked hard to ensure justice for the victim's family and the community."
