Daniel Chavez-Montoya pleads guilty in Albuquerque store robbery spree
Daniel Chavez-Montoya took a plea deal on Monday in an Albuquerque store robbery spree case. The legal agreement caps his potential incarceration time at one year. He pled guilty to two counts of shoplifting and two counts of simple battery.
The events occurred on January 23. Six people entered the Family Dollar on Sage Rd. in southwest Albuquerque around 5:30 p.m. They pepper sprayed one employee. They beat up two more workers. They threatened the employees with a gun. The group left the business with various stolen items.
A second incident happened about 20 minutes later down the road. The group shoplifted items from O’Reilly’s. They assaulted employees at a nearby Autozone and Walgreens during subsequent robberies.
Law enforcement arrested four individuals following the incidents:
- Daniel Chavez-Montoya
- Dominick Chavez-Montoya
- Rudy Chavez-Montoya
- Antoinette Mendoza
The three men are brothers. Mendoza is Rudy Chavez-Montoya’s girlfriend. Mendoza pled guilty to shoplifting and conspiracy to commit shoplifting. The state agreed to two years of probation for Mendoza. A judge has not set her sentencing date.
Rudy Chavez-Montoya has a plea hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Dominic Chavez-Montoya pled not guilty to his charges. The court has not set his trial date.
Plea deals resolve criminal counts without a full jury trial. Defendants agree to plead guilty in exchange for specific sentencing caps or dismissals. Albuquerque court judges must review and approve these negotiated agreements.
Sentencing dates remain pending for the resolved cases.
