NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Laurice Montoya, 38, was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. According to investigators, in January 2022, Montoya got into an argument with a man at her home on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation and hit him with a snow shovel on the head twice. That man then fell and had a seizure. They said Montoya stayed with the man but was unable to call for help. A friend arrived four hours later and that person called 911.
The man was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center where he died. Doctors said he had a traumatic brain injury, a rib fracture, severe bruising on his upper body, and two cuts on his scalp.
Montoya will also serve three years of supervised release when she gets out of prison.
