A Dallas mother says she lives with the memory of her son and the final words he told her days before his murder. Three years ago, security guard Jose Montes was shot and killed while servicing an ATM in West Dallas.
His family is making an emotional plea for witnesses to come forward, and Dallas Police are calling on the public for information that will lead to the arrest of Montes’ killer.
Maria Montes and her husband met with NBC 5 at the location where their son was killed three years ago at the 1500 block of Nort Cockrell Hill Road in Dallas. They said it was difficult to revisit the location, but they needed answers about their son’s death.
“I don’t want anybody to go what we’re going through because you’re never going to have that relief,” Montes said.
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On Sep. 12, 2020, police said Montes, a security officer, was servicing an ATM outside of a Neighborhood Credit Union in the strip mall when he was approached by a man with a rifle who demanded property.
Montes was shot and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. A second security guard there at the time was unharmed.
After the shooting, police said the man loaded a duffle bag into a car driven by a woman.
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Following the shooting, Chet Kimmell, CEO and president of Neighborhood Credit Union released a statement:
"I am shocked and deeply saddened by the loss of an innocent man’s life this morning and I am praying for his family. Our team is doing everything we can to assist law enforcement in identifying the shooter.”
Today, the strip mall is business as usual. The credit union has since been replaced and the ATM was removed. But Maria Montes still remembers the details of the last conversation with her son.
“It was a Thursday before the weekend. He came to the house and gave me a hug and said, ‘I love you Mom’ and I said ‘I love you too,’” she said.
She struggled through tears to describe the deep sense of loss.
“No chance to say goodbye. No chance to give another hug to him,” she said. “No chance to hear his voice no more.”
Dallas Police say they are working to bring justice to this family. Senior Corporal Melinda Gutierrez says they need the public to come forward with anything that could help.
“Detectives are actively working leads. We’re reaching out to get more leads, news leads,” Gutierrez said. “It was a horrific crime. A 28-year-old man was killed as he was at work servicing an ATM.”
Maria Montes said, three years later, the family is still shaken, and a baby boy is now growing up without his father.
“He’s three years old now but watching him not have his dad and look at other dads playing with kids, it’s been hard,” she said.
Anyone with information on the death of Jose Montes is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 214-373-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online at P3tips.com.
