Overview
- A Cook County judge imposed the sentence Tuesday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
- A jury in July convicted Montano of first-degree murder and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, with a special finding that he caused a peace officer’s death, making him eligible for life in prison.
- Prosecutors presented body-worn camera and surveillance video showing Montano fleeing on March 1, 2023, before the fatal shooting on a Gage Park school playground during a domestic-disturbance response.
- Montano testified that he feared police, said he did not realize an officer was ordering him to stop, and claimed he was trying to hide a gun; jurors deliberated for less than two hours and rejected a second-degree option.
- Prosecutors said Officer Vásquez Lasso was shot five times and that a 911 call reported threats with a gun, a claim the woman later disputed; the officer also shot Montano during the exchange.