SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – It was a wild chase with suspects and police shooting at each other on a New Mexico highway in November 2021. Now one of the suspects in the vehicle pleaded guilty Monday in a Santa Fe courtroom.
It started at a Starbucks drive-thru on November 26 on St. Francis Drive in Santa Fe when a female driver placed an order, then pulled a gun and demanded money. Santa Fe County deputies and state police catch up with the vehicle and the chase begins.
The female suspect, later identified as Christy Dimas, had switched seats with Jacob Montoya, and Dimas began to open fire from the passenger seat. State police officers and deputies return fire, some of them shooting through their own windshields.
The chase reaches speeds of 100 miles per hour. Christy Dimas then takes a new position and continues shooting. The half-hour chase then has a dramatic ending near Cline’s Corners.
Jacob Montoya gave himself up and Christy Dimas was found dead in the back seat. Monday afternoon, Montoya pled guilty in this case.
The 24-count indictment was pleaded down to one charge, with Montoya agreeing to a nine-year sentence with four years suspended but there is a repeat offender enhancement that will add three years. Montoya will serve a total of eight years in prison for this chase.
Jacob Montoya is currently serving time for another case. These sentences will run concurrently. Monday’s plea will add another four years to his prison time.
