Montenegro is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation into the handling of the March 2021 arrest of former Dallas officer Bryan Riser.
DALLAS – A Dallas homicide detective is under criminal investigation over allegations that he perjured himself and forged records in the capital’s murder investigation against a fellow cop.
The Dallas Police Department referred two counts of falsifying government records and one count of perjury to the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office regarding Detective Esteban Montenegro.
Montenegro is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the handling of the March 2021 arrest of former Dallas Police Officer Bryan Riser.
WFAA has also confirmed that District Attorney John Creuzot has reused his office and that the Kaufman County District Attorney’s Office has taken over.
Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Wiley told WFAA her office has been designated as special prosecutor on the case and “recently received the case from Dallas County.”
“We’ve only just begun to look at the documents,” Wiley said.
She described the recordings as “massive.”
“More documents will be received from Dallas County,” she said. “We will not make an application decision until we have fully reviewed the application of the Dallas DA Office.”
Messina Madson, the attorney representing Montenegro, said her client has full confidence that the justice system will wipe him out.
“He always acted in good faith,” she said.
A judge found there was no evidence to hold Riser and ordered his release last April at the conclusion of an extraordinary three-hour hearing in which Montenegro was subjected to intense questioning from both sides. defense and the prosecution.
During the hearing, Montenegro argued staunchly that he believed there was sufficient probable cause for the arrest. The prosecutor disagreed, saying he did not believe the police had enough of the correct cause.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia Notice of Riser’s arrest on March 42021. The chief said investigators had developed evidence that the 12-year veteran paid to have two people killed in 2017. He Fire Riser for a few days At moment later.
The warrant for Riser’s arrest suggests the police largely based their case on the account of Emmanuel Kilpatrick, a convicted murderer.
Kilpatrick was in prison for about two years when he turned himself in in August 2019, claiming that Riser hired him to kill Lisa Saenz and Albert Douglas.
However, problems with Montenegro’s handling of the case quickly became apparent.
The original order, signed by a judge, said preliminary analysis from the FBI “showed that the suspect’s phone placed him in or near the area within the time frame” of both the victim’s disappearance and the subsequent murder.
However, after Riser was arrested, Montenegro went back to the judge and that information was taken out because it was not true. Cell phone data was not on Riser’s phone at the time of the murder.
Montenegro testified during the hearing that he made a mistake, which he described as a “cut and paste error”.
Attorney Toby Shook said Riser is appealing the termination and continues to maintain his innocence.
