13-year-olds murder conviction overturned

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A state court has overturned a Portales teens 2011 murder conviction and ordered a new trial, according to court documents.

The New Mexico Court of Appeals ruled in an opinion posted Friday that statements DeAngelo Montoya made to investigators were inadmissible because his age precluded him from waiving his Fifth Amendment rights.

Montoya was convicted of second-degree murder in the July 2010 shooting death of 21-year-old Eastern New Mexico University student Angel Vale.

Montoya was 13 at the time of the shooting. He was remanded to a Children, Youth and Families Department group facility until he is 21, the maximum punishment allowed for a child.

The state ruling overturns a pre-trial ruling by District Court Judge Drew Tatum that allowed Montoyas statements.

District Attorney Andrea Reeb said Monday it is her understanding that the state Attorney Generals Office plans to ask the state Supreme Court to review the lower courts decision.

She said if the trial is returned to her district, her office plans to present additional evidence to allow Montoyas statements, and regardless of that decision, plans to retry Montoya.

In his opinion for the court, Chief Judge Rodrick T. Kennedy wrote:

We conclude that the evidence presented by the State through answers to a significant number of leading questions did not amount to clear and convincing evidence of Childs ability to waive his legal rights.

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13-year-olds murder conviction overturned