SAN ANTONIO – Update (6:50 a.m. Tuesday): A jury was unable to come up with a punishment for a woman convicted in the death of her boyfriend.
A mistrial was declared late Monday night in the punishment phase for Amanda Montoya.
Montoya was found guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon last week. A new jury will be called for another punishment phase. She’s facing 5 to 99 years in prison.
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Original (3:38 p.m. Monday): Prosecutors in the trial of a woman convicted of causing the death of her boyfriend brought up past criminal charges to a jury on Monday.
The punishment phase for Amanda Montoya is underway. She faces five to 99 years in prison.
Montoya in 2016 was charged with the murder of her boyfriend Cesar Gallegos, who was found inside his South Side home with a single gunshot wound.
A jury last week found Montoya not guilty of murder but guilty of a lesser charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which carries the same punishment range as the murder charge.
Montoya’s daughter and a friend took the stand on her behalf and talked about her as a caring and non-violent person.
That’s when prosecutor Oscar Peña brought up Montoya’s three past DWI convictions and explained how at one point she was involved in a drunk-driving crash.
Montoya’s past convictions were in before Gallegos’ death, but she also had a bond violation while on house arrest while awaiting her trial.
Jury deliberations began late Monday afternoon to decide Montoya’s punishment.
We will update this article once that verdict is in.
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