SAN ANTONIO – It took a jury only about two hours to sentence a man who shot a Balcones Heights sergeant to 70 years in prison.
On Friday, the jury heard closing arguments in the punishment phase of Wilfredo Montemayor’s trial.
Sgt. Joey Sepulveda was called to the Sol Apartments on Feb. 2, 2021 in the 6900 block of Interstate 10 after Montemayor and his brother, Sijifredo Montemayor, were seen burglarizing vehicles.
As Sepulveda approached their vehicle, Wilfredo Montemayor fired multiple shots and Sepulveda was hit several times including in the neck.
Sepulveda’s body camera footage was presented to the jury. The video shows the moments leading up to the shooting as Sepulveda’s orders the men to get out of the vehicle.
Sepulveda pulls his taser and leans in to try to turn off the vehicle. As he steps back, ordering the Montemayor brothers out again, you see Wilfredo Montemayor point a gun out of the window and fire. As Sepulveda stumbles away, two more shots can be heard.
The defense during closing arguments was that Sepulveda didn’t follow proper protocol and never tried to de-escalate the situation.
“If you notice, it was only him escalating it,” attorney Britney Durham said. “It was only him shouting. It was only him making threats.”
The state argued that the only reason they were in that courtroom was due to Montemayor’s actions.
“You can’t blame the victim in this case who is approaching every potentially dangerous situation,” prosecutor Jessica Schultz said.
Sepulveda survived his injuries. He was in the courtroom as sentencing took place.
Montemayor is eligible for parole after serving 30 years in prison.