Murder conviction upheld in slaying of former Santa Fe High basketball player

Dec. 11—The state Supreme Court on Monday upheld the murder conviction of a teenager in the fatal shooting of former Santa Fe High School basketball star Fedonta "JB" White.

Estevan Montoya, then 16, shot White at a house party in Chupadero on Aug. 1, 2020. Multiple witnesses testified at Montoya's trial the two exchanged words in a confrontation immediately before Montoya shot White, 18.

A jury convicted Montoya of White's slaying following a trial in 2022. Montoya later was sentenced to life in prison.

Montoya's legal team appealed to the state Supreme Court, citing "irregularities ... and cumulative error throughout the trial."

Appellate attorney Allison Jaramillo, who represented Montoya at his appeal hearing, argued District Judge T. Glenn Ellington denied Montoya a fair trial by refusing to give jurors the option of finding Montoya had killed White in self-defense.

The state's high court rejected that argument in the opinion published Monday, noting "it is clear from the evidence that Defendant was the initial aggressor in the fatal encounter with the victim."

The court also rejected a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence in the case.

"The State presented evidence sufficient for a reasonable juror to find that Defendant deliberately intended to kill the victim," wrote Chief Justice C. Shannon Bacon, who authored the opinion. "Evidence submitted to the jury included a cell phone video showing Defendant playing with the laser sight attached to the murder weapon immediately before the party; the Defendant's fixation on the gun before, during, and after his stay at the party; and Defendant lifting up his shirt and 'flashing' or displaying the murder weapon to a fellow gang member prior to any hostilities with the victim."

Bacon also wrote evidence indicated Montoya "escalated the hostilities and instigated a physical altercation with the victim through fighting words 'Let's get it!' and 'You don't want this smoke' as well as inviting the victim to come closer."

Montoya also immediately fled the scene and disposed of the weapon, the opinion says, and "lied to investigating police officers in denying that he had shot anyone."

Montoya's defense attorney Dan Marlowe told jurors at the trial Montoya shot White out of fear after the athlete, who was listed at 6-foot-7 when he played, attempted to punch him several times at a house party hosted by fellow teens.

One witness testified White had thrown several punches at Montoya but said only one of them landed and it had glanced off Montoya's shoulder.

Jaramillo expressed disappointment in the decision Monday.

"A jury was not asked to consider whether Estevan Montoya was acting in self defense," she wrote in an email sent by a spokeswoman. "This case is part of a troubling trend of appellate decisions undercutting decades of New Mexico law guaranteeing the right to assert that defense. Before sentencing someone to life in prison, particularly a juvenile, the jury should make the factual determinations necessary to reject a claim of self defense."

First Judicial District Attorney spokesman Nathan Lederman wrote in an email the office was "grateful to the Supreme Court" for upholding the conviction against Montoya and another gunman in recent weeks.

"We hope this finality brings comfort and solace to their families and the communities impacted by these senseless crimes," Lederman wrote.

White's grandmother Jude Voss also applauded the ruling.

"I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the judicial system and witnesses for their unwavering dedication and commitment to justice," she wrote in a text message Monday. "I am deeply thankful for their service and the vital role they play in ensuring that justice is served."

White, who played three years at Santa Fe High School, was one of the city's best-known athletes in recent history and was only a few weeks from attending the University of New Mexico on a basketball scholarship.

His death stunned sports fans throughout the state who had yearned for a home-grown star to lead the Lobos' men's program.

At Montoya's sentencing in 2022, Ellington highlighted youth gang violence and an increase in shootings by young people throughout Santa Fe as key factors in White's death.

Montoya was affiliated with a group called the South Side Goons, which has been characterized as a gang. However, his friend Kane Flores told The New Mexican at the time the group is not a gang.

Flores said Montoya was carrying a weapon that day due a heightened sense of fear in the wake of the slaying of another mutual friend, who had been fatally shot a few weeks before the party and whose death remained unsolved.