Omaha man pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2016 slaying, faces up to 70 years in prison

Omaha man pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2016 slaying, faces up to 70 years in prison
Tontavious Montgomery

An Omaha man who authorities said was involved in a 2016 gang-related slaying took a plea deal Monday.

Tontavious Montgomery, 27, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a firearm. He had faced charges of first-degree murder and weapon use.

Douglas County District Judge Gary Randall is scheduled to sentence Montgomery in June. Montgomery faces a maximum of 70 years in prison.

“I’m happy that (the plea deal) ends up in a solid conviction,” said prosecutor Mike Jensen.

Authorities say Montgomery and a co-defendant, Alphonso Hall III, are both members of the South Family Bloods gang. They say the two fatally shot Terrance Gunn after a turf war sparked a dispute.

Gunn, 22, who officials said was a member of the 40th Avenue Crips, was at a tobacco store near the Southside Terrace apartments on May 15, 2016. Gunn and Hall ran into each other, and Hall confronted Gunn about being on South Family turf.

As Gunn went to a friend’s apartment, Hall gathered others next door, and the argument continued.

Gunn lifted up his shirt to reveal a gun, authorities said. Hall and Montgomery then went to their cars to get guns and opened fire shortly after, the officials said.

Jensen has said Gunn never pulled the weapon out of his waistband.

Hall, 24, pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison. Following the state’s good-time law, the sentence will be cut in half, meaning Hall actually will serve 7½ to 10 years.

Montgomery’s case had been delayed for more than a year because he had spent time at the Lincoln Regional Center as officials determined whether he was mentally competent to stand trial.

“That puts everything at a standstill,” Jensen said. “It feels like this case has been pending forever.”

In a hearing last year, Montgomery was found competent to stand trial. His trial had been scheduled to start Monday.

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