Teen who shot at Lee County deputy appears in court after turning himself in

Reporter: Dannielle Garcia Writer: Drew Hill
Published: Updated:
Eusebio Montoya (Credit: Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

17-year-old Eusebio Montoya made his first appearance in court after turning himself in. After a county-wide manhunt, Montoya turned himself in on Saturday night.

WINK News reporter Dannielle Garcia explains the charges Montoya could face.

Just two weeks before his 18th birthday, Montoya appeared before a judge. “I am going to order that you be held in a secure detention for 21 days,” that judge said.

This teenager is accused of a violent crime.

On Friday, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was responding to a domestic incident in Lehigh Acres. There, a woman says a man pointed a gun at her.

According to the sheriff’s office, a deputy was speaking with a 16-year-old old boy in a car outside when Montoya showed up and began firing shots.

The deputy wasn’t hurt, but the bullets did strike the teen in the car.

Montoya was on the run for nearly 24 hours until he finally turned himself in.

Teen who shot at LCSO deputy in Lehigh Acres turns himself in

Now, the teen is facing charges of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and being a minor in possession of a firearm.

According to attorney Scot Goldberg, these are all serious charges that could lead to serious consequences. “Yeah, I think no matter what, this individual is going to be charged as an adult. Because of the type of crime number one, that he’s using a gun, number two that he shot at a police officer that was answering a domestic violence call, which is one of the most dangerous calls to answer for law enforcement, ” Goldberg said.

“And the fact that somebody was shot and grievously injured, you can expect this individual to be charged as an adult,” said Goldberg.

Goldberg is a  former prosecutor turned private attorney. He says that before those 21 days in juvenile detention are up, he expects the state attorney’s office to upgrade the charges or file for a grand jury indictment.

“Even if he wasn’t a flight risk, which he clearly is because it took him a few… a day or so to find him. I don’t think that they would want him back out in the community when, you know, his last action was shooting at a police officer and ending up killing or wounding someone, a minor,” Goldberg said.

If there’s evidence that someone tried to help Montoya hide, Goldberg thinks there could be charges for that.

Montoya is due back in court on Monday. His arraignment is set for April 11.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.