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Thread: Chastain Montgomery, Sr. Pleads Guilty and Gets Life in Federal Prison in 2010 TN Post Office Killings

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  1. #1
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    Chastain Montgomery, Sr. Pleads Guilty and Gets Life in Federal Prison in 2010 TN Post Office Killings




    Feds indict Chastain Montgomery and his son in Henning post office killings

    Chastain Montgomery is a former state corrections officer whose grandfather was the first black mayor of Henning and best friend of "Roots" author Alex Haley.

    But now, following a bizarre series of events last week, the 47-year-old Montgomery was indicted Thursday on charges that he and his teenage son were responsible for the shooting deaths of two postal employees last October in Henning.

    Flanked by federal, state and local law enforcement officers at a news conference in the federal building, U.S. Atty. Ed Stanton called the killings of Paula Robinson and Judy Spray "cold, calculated, unspeakable acts of violence."

    The six-count indictment says Montgomery and his 18-year-old son robbed the post office on Oct. 18 and then shot the two women to death.

    The charges of killing federal employees carry punishment of up to death.

    Montgomery, who is from LaVergne, Tenn., placed himself in the center of an intense five-month investigation when he bolted through police crime-scene tape on Monday Feb. 14 in Mason where his fugitive son had just been killed in a shootout with police.

    Chastain Montgomery Jr., 18, was killed after authorities said he carjacked a man in Nashville earlier that morning and then led officers on a two-county chase that ended at U.S. 70 and Tenn. 59.

    Authorities said the younger Montgomery got out of the vehicle brandishing two guns and began firing at officers.

    They returned fire and killed Montgomery, who also was wanted on attempted murder charges stemming from the Jan. 4 shooting of a 17-year-old acquaintance in Nashville.

    As officers conducted their on-site investigation last week in Mason, the elder Montgomery bolted through crime-scene tape and tried to enter the stolen vehicle that had been left running.

    When officers wrestled him to the ground and arrested him, they found dye-stained money on both Montgomery and his deceased son.

    The money, totaling more than $1,000, had been stolen from a bank, according to court documents in Tipton County.

    The elder Montgomery, who also had worked as a youth services officer for the Department of Children's Services, faces state charges of theft of property, tampering with evidence, harboring a fugitive and resisting arrest.

    Stanton would not comment Thursday on reports circulating at the scene last week that Montgomery implicated himself in the post office killings and that one of the weapons found on his dead son had been used in those killings.

    "This is a fast-moving train as this indictment was just returned this afternoon," Stanton said. "The investigators have been working tirelessly on this case since October."

    He would not comment on whether only one or both of the Montgomerys fired their weapons.

    "All six counts of the indictment allege that Chastain Montgomery Jr. aided and abetted his father in each of these unspeakable acts of violence," Stanton said.

    Robinson, 33, was a retail clerk at the post office, and Spray, 59, was a rural letter carrier.

    Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent John Mehr said the victims' families "have suffered terribly" and that he and other law enforcement officers hope the indictment and prosecution of Montgomery will bring them justice and closure.

    Montgomery's grandfather, Fred Montgomery Jr., was elected in 1988 as the first black mayor of Henning at age 71. He also was a lifelong friend and frequent traveling companion of author Alex Haley, who died in 1992. For many years, Fred Montgomery served as a curator and tour guide at the Alex Haley Museum in Henning.

    He died in 2006 at age 89.

    The charges

    The federal grand jury indictment against Chastain Montgomery includes:

    Counts 1-2: Killing employees of the United States (life in prison or death).

    Count 3: Robbery with a dangerous weapon (not more than 25 years in prison).

    Count 4: Using a firearm to commit a crime of violence (10 years to life).

    Counts 5-6: Causing deaths of Paula Robinson and Judy Spray by use of a firearm (life in prison or death).

    http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...post-office-k/

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    Feds say defendant in Henning postal killings voluntarily confessed

    Federal prosecutors say the one surviving suspect in the 2010 slaying of two postal workers in Henning, Tenn., initially declined to talk to investigators last year, but then changed his mind and made a full confession.

    Chastain Montgomery was arrested Feb. 14, 2011, in Mason where his teenage son had just been killed in a shootout with police in Mason. He was taken to the Tipton County Jail where he was charged with tampering with evidence and resisting arrest, but authorities believed there was much more at stake.

    "Chief Deputy Donna Turner advised the defendant about a visit from the (son's) pastor, spoke with the defendant briefly about the pastor's request for (funeral) insurance information and obtained the information from the defendant," federal prosecutors said in a recent brief. "As Chief Turner started to walk down the hall, the defendant called her back. He then told her that he now wanted to talk to her."

    The brief was filed in response to defense claims that authorities ignored Montgomery's repeated requests for an attorney, held him for days without charges and continued to question him after he invoked his right to remain silent and asked for a lawyer.

    U.S. Dist. Judge Jon McCalla will rule following a hearing scheduled for December.

    Prosecutors say Montgomery, 48, waived his right to remain silent and, after being confronted with mounting evidence against him, eventually admitted to investigators that he and his son, Chastain Montgomery Jr., 18, shot and killed carrier Judy Spay and clerk Paula Robinson on Oct. 18, 2010, in the Henning post office.

    The evidence included his 2004 black Chevy Impala with the missing front hubcaps and long white scratch on the passenger side which was seen near the post office that morning; the two murder weapons; the unique, expensive ammunition used in the killings; and an eyewitness's sketch of a bushy-haired driver that "uncannily" resembled Montgomery, authorities say.

    "The defendant told the postal inspectors that he didn't intend to kill any of the postal employees when he and his son went into the Henning post office to rob it," U.S. Atty. Ed Stanton and lead prosecutor Tony Arvin said in the 30-page brief. "He told the inspectors that he got angry that there was so little money in the post office so he shot one of the employees. He stated that his son then shot the other postal employee. The defendant then provided a number of details about the Henning robbery and murders, including many that were not known to the public."

    The robbery netted them $63.

    Montgomery, who had dye-stained money in his wallet, also admitted in the videotaped interrogations that he and his son robbed banks in his hometown of LaVergne and in Smyrna in the weeks following the postal shootings.

    Federal prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty, but defense attorneys say tests have shown that Montgomery is mentally retarded, with an IQ of 61, and that he is legally ineligible for the death penalty.

    Prosecutors, who are having a separate mental evaluation of Montgomery, note that he is a high school graduate, spent two years at the University of Tennessee at Martin and worked for more than 25 years as a state corrections officer, "receiving excellent performance reviews."

    http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...D=happeningnow
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  4. #4
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    DoJ to decide soon on seeking death penalty for postal shootings

    The Justice Department plans to disclose next month whether it is going to pursue the death penalty against a former prison guard charged with killing two West Tennessee postal workers.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Arvin told U.S. District Judge Jon McCalla on Tuesday that the government's decision on whether to seek the death penalty at trial against Chastain Montgomery is expected to be disclosed March 7.

    Montgomery has pleaded not guilty to charges that he fatally shot Paula Robinson and Judy Spray while robbing a Henning post office with his son in October 2010.

    Defense attorneys argue that a confession made by Montgomery when he was arrested in February 2011 was coerced and should be suppressed. A hearing to address the legality of the confession is scheduled for March 4.

    http://www.local8now.com/news/state/...190879831.html

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    Jury will remain anonymous in Henning Post Office murder trial

    A federal judge said jurors in the murder trial of Chastain Montgomery, charged in two shooting deaths at the Henning Post Office, will remain anonymous.

    During a brief pretrial hearing Friday, U.S. Dist. Judge Jon McCalla also said he will announce his decision on whether to allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the Oct. 18, 2010 robberies and killings of a rural postal carrier and a postal clerk early next week. Defense attorneys Anne Tipton and Michael Scholl also have asked the judge to toss out their client’s videotaped confession.

    McCalla said regardless of how he rules, the trial will go forward as scheduled on July 7.

    On April 1, 100 potential jurors will be brought to the federal courthouse in Downtown Memphis and given what the judge called “extensive questionnaires.”

    The trial is expected to last a month.

    http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...ng-post-trial/
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    Judge: Confession In Post Office Murders Can Be Used

    By George Brown

    (Memphis) A Federal judge has ruled the confession of a man charged with killing two post office workers can be used in his trial.

    Judge Jon P. McCalla released his decision Thursday afternoon.

    At the end of January, McCalla ruled prosecutors may pursue the death penalty in their case against Chastain Montgomery because he is competent.

    Montgomery confessed that he and his son robbed the Henning Post Office in 2010 and killed two female employees.

    For months, the two eluded police, until Montgomery’s son was stopped for another crime.

    Officers say he opened fire on them and they shot and killed him.

    Montgomery was arrested when he came to the scene.

    Officers say the two had the same guns used in the Henning murder.

    Despite admitting to planning and carrying out the post office robbery that netted just $63, Montgomery’s attorney says his confession was coerced and he didn’t have a lawyer at that time.

    Judge McCalla says potential jurors will be brought in April 1st, with the case set to start April 7th.

    http://wreg.com/2014/02/06/judge-con...s-can-be-used/

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    Mother of man charged with killing 2 Tenn. postal workers said he was 'slow' as a child

    A former prison guard charged in the fatal shootings of two Tennessee postal workers struggled to learn simple tasks such as cleaning his room and getting dressed on his own as a child, his mother said during a federal court hearing Tuesday.

    Lois Montgomery testified in a hearing that will determine if her 49-year-old son, Chastain Montgomery, is eligible to face the death penalty if convicted at trial in the deaths of Paula Robinson and Judy Spray during a robbery at small-town post office in October 2010.

    Defense attorneys argue that Montgomery is intellectually disabled and, under federal law, ineligible for the death penalty. A psychologist testified Monday that three IQ tests show Montgomery has mild intellectual disability.

    Those claims are being challenged by federal prosecutors, who argue that a person cannot be found to be mentally disabled on IQ tests alone.

    Montgomery's mother first took the stand Monday, but her testimony was interrupted by an outburst by her son. Montgomery abruptly stood up and began to speak before being grabbed by U.S. marshals and forced into a room adjacent to the courtroom.

    Montgomery sat slumped in his chair during Tuesday's hearing, raising his head at times to look at his mother on the stand. He asked for a break when his mother began speaking about one night when he slept outside, on the ground, in the dead of winter, in the days after his father's death in January 1978.

    Lois Montgomery has an illness that affects her voice, making her speech labored and hoarse. She became emotional during parts of her testimony.

    She testified her son had trouble staying neat, tying his shoes and doing chores as a child, and he rarely spoke to people outside the family. He sometimes would hide in a closet in their home, she said.

    "He was slow," she said. "You would tell him several times how to do things but he had trouble catching on."

    Later, Lois Montgomery said her son went to a high school for slow learners. But he did attend college at the University of Tennessee-Martin and was able to hold jobs, including a long tenure at a West Tennessee prison, she said.

    Robinson and Spray were working in the Henning post office when they were shot multiple times. Prosecutors say Montgomery and his 18-year-old son, Chastain Montgomery Jr., shot the women after robbing the post office of $63. The younger Montgomery was killed in a shootout with police four months later.

    Montgomery has pleaded not guilty to two counts of killing a federal employee while committing a robbery and other charges. No trial date has been set.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...fice-Shootings
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    Defendant in Henning postal killings makes first appearance

    A former state corrections officer charged in last year’s killings of two postal workers in Henning made an initial appearance this afternoon in federal court here.

    Chastain Montgomery, in waist chains and shackles and wearing a white jumpsuit, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Charmiane Claxton it would probably be three more weeks before he hired an attorney. "I ain't talked to my family in three or four days," he said to explain the delay.

    Montgomery and his deceased son were named Thursday in a six-count indictment charging them with killing federal workers and using dangerous weapons in the commission of a robbery.

    Paula Robinson, 33, and Judy Spray, 59, were shot to death last Oct. 18 at the post office in Henning where they were employed.

    Nearly two dozen family members and friends of the two victims attended today's hearing, which lasted about 10 minutes. They had no comment as they left, but many were wiping tears from their eyes.

    The judge set March 14 as the date for Montgomery to report again. His detention hearing will be held when he has a lawyer. Federal prosecutor Tony Arvin said the government will oppose any release on bond for Montgomery.

    Prosecutors have not yet said whether they will seek the death penalty, a punishment rarely sought in federal cases here.

    Montgomery, 47, inserted himself into a police investigation on Feb. 14 when he charged through police lines in Mason, Tenn., at a crime scene where his fugitive teenage son had just been killed in a shootout with police.

    Authorities said the younger Montgomery was killed by officers after he emerged from a stolen car brandishing two guns and began firing at them.

    Dye-stained money stolen from a bank was found on Montgomery and on his deceased son, officials said.

    The younger Montgomery also was wanted on attempted murder charges stemming from a Jan. 4 shooting in Nashville.

    http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...es-first-appe/

  9. #9
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    Attorneys appointed to represent defendant in Henning postal shootings

    Two attorneys have been appointed for a West Tennessee man charged with the shooting deaths last October of two postal workers in Henning.

    Since defendant Chastain Montgomery could face the death penalty, U.S. Dist. Court Judge Jon McCalla appointed two defense counsels, Michael Scholl and C. Anne Tipton.

    Montgomery is being held in federal custody without bond and a detention hearing is set for Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charmiane Claxton.

    Montgomery, 47, and his deceased son, Chastain Montgomery Jr., were named two weeks ago in a six-count indictment related to killing federal workers and using dangerous weapons in the commission of a robbery.

    Paula Robinson, 33, and Judy Spray, 59, were shot to death Oct. 18 at the post office where they were employed.

    Montgomery’s son, 18, was killed in a shootout with police on Feb. 14 in Mason following a carjacking in Nashville.

    Federal prosecutors have not yet said whether they will seek the death penalty for the elder Montgomery.

    http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...nt-henning-po/

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    Feds' decision on death penalty expected

    Federal prosecutors are expected to disclose whether they are going to pursue the death penalty against a former prison guard charged with killing two West Tennessee postal workers.

    Justice Department officials met in January to discuss whether to seek death at the trial of Chastain Montgomery. They are expected to announce their decision Friday.

    Montgomery has pleaded not guilty to fatally shooting Paula Robinson and Judy Spray while robbing the Henning post office with his son in October 2010.

    Prosecutors say Montgomery and his son robbed the post office of just $63. Chastain Montgomery Jr. was killed in a shootout with police in February 2011.

    A status conference in the case is scheduled for Friday. Defense attorneys are challenging a confession Montgomery gave authorities after his arrest.

    http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/art...#ixzz2MwiCIKSP
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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