GALT, Calif. — The Sacramento District Attorney's Office announced a jury has found a man guilty of second-degree murder in regards to a 2006 Galt stabbing.
Javier Montanez, Jr., 33, was convicted on June 25 for the murder of Clinton Poole. Galt police officers responded to a call of a fight involving 30 to 40 people on Jan. 6, 2006. When they arrived, they found 19-year-old Poole dead in the entryway of his home.
Witnesses said Poole was standing on his porch watching the large fight when a group of people, including the then 18-year-old Montanez, assaulted Poole on his front lawn. After the fighting stopped, witnesses said Poole was standing by his garage door when Montanez stabbed him in the chest.
Montanez fled to Mexico and remained a fugitive until 2018, when U.S. authorities were notified of his location. Montanez was then extradited in 2019 to face murder charges in Sacramento County.
Montanez faces a sentence of 16 years to life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 20.
The Galt Police Department said it hopes the joint efforts of the Galt Police Department, FBI and the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office would help bring closure to Poole's family in a Facebook post after Montanez was arrested.
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