Man agrees to plea deal in Cross Keys apartment stabbing

SAN ANGELO, TX – A San Angelo man has agreed to take a plea deal for stabbing another man in the neck.

Steve Montemayor, 50, of San Angelo, has received a plea deal to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he smoked marijuana and stabbed a man in the neck.

According to court documents, in the early morning hours of October 19, 2021, San Angelo police were dispatched to the 1200 block of South Abe Street in reference to an item involving a knife.

When officers arrived at the scene, they observed a man pinning the defendant, identified as Montemayor, to the ground. Officers then learned that a victim had been stabbed while attempting to subdue Montemayor.

Montemayor was arrested and handcuffed.

About 20 minutes before the incident, officers learned that Montemayor had been knocking on the doors of the Cross Keys Apartments. When they arrived at that time, they could not find Montemayor and left the place.

Shortly thereafter, officers received a call to the same location about Montemayor, who was banging on doors again but now had a knife.

The victim said his girlfriend called about Montemayor. He drove to the Cross Keys Apartments with some family members to check on his girlfriend. The victim confirmed that he spoke to officers on the first call.

When the victim left, his girlfriend called him again and told him that Montemayor had returned and was knocking on the door again.

The victim got out of his car and walked over to Montemayor, who now had a stick with him. He began swinging the stick at the victim, causing him to walk back into the street. Montemayor then produced a knife and stabbed the victim in the neck. The victim and his family members attacked Montemayor and held him until San Angelo police arrived.

The victim had a non-life-threatening knife wound and other scratches believed to have been caused by Montemayor. A knife was recovered and confiscated from the spot where Montemayor had been taken to the ground.

After police harassed Montemayor, he agreed to talk to them. He claimed that the victim and his family had “assaulted” him and admitted that he used to drink and take pills. He also said he was not acting in his right mind and denied stabbing anyone.

Montemayor gave police permission to search his apartment and when they entered, they noticed four large cans of alcoholic beverages and smelled the odor of burnt marijuana. Investigators later learned that Montemayor had been smoking pot, according to another officer.

In exchange for a guilty plea, Montemayor will be sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

The judge has not yet signed the plea.