Still Missing NH - Harmony Montgomery, 7, Manchester, missing after placed in Father's Custody in 2019, reported 2021, *1 Guilty perjury, 1 guilty weapons* #3

[arielilane]

Jurors hear from first witnesses in Adam Montgomery's weapons trial

Two competing theories were brought before a jury Thursday in the weapons trial of Adam Montgomery, who is separately accused of killing his daughter, Harmony.

www.wmur.com

6/11/2023

MANCHESTER, N.H. —

Jurors heard a full day of evidence Thursday in the weapons trial of Adam Montgomery, who has separately been charged with killing his daughter, Harmony Montgomery.

In opening statements, prosecutors told jurors that Adam Montgomery stole guns while the defense pointed the finger at two other people.

Adam Montgomery is charged with two counts each of being an armed career criminal, receiving stolen property and theft by unauthorized taking.

 

[arielilane]

Review Harmony Montgomery case timeline as homicide case evolves

Explore key dates in the Harmony Montgomery case, which is now a homicide investigation.

www.wmur.com

Updated: 10:40 PM EDT Aug 24, 2022

Investigators now believe Harmony Montgomery was killed in early December 2019 when she was 5 years old. Her disappearance was first reported more than two years later. Anyone with information is urged to call or text a 24-hour tip-line at 603-203-6060.

 

[arielilane]

Witness testifies to a jury that Adam Montgomery was in her apartment night of gun theft

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1664387709660459008

https://twitter.com/boston25

Witness testifies to jury that Adam Montgomery was in her apartment night of gun theft

In the gun theft trial of Adam Montgomery, a woman told the jury that Adam was in her apartment the night two guns were stolen from underneath her bed.

www.boston25news.com

June 01, 2023 at 5:40 pm EDT

MANCHESTER, NH — In the gun theft trial of Adam Montgomery, a woman told the jury that Adam was in her apartment the night two guns were stolen from underneath her bed.

Kim Fran told the jury that while her ex-husband, Chris Frain, was in New York on a construction job, Montgomery was in her living room where the two wanted to buy drugs, but they passed out.

 

[PommyMommy]

JUN 1, 2023

Jurors hear from first witnesses in Adam Montgomery's weapons trial​

Re-watch the Montgomery weapons trial:​

• 6/1: Prosecutor's opening statement | Defense opening statement | Testimony (Part 1) | Testimony (Part 2) | Testimony (Part 3) | Testimony (Part 4)
• 5/31: Final pretrial matters | Judge's instructions | Judge's questions for jury pool | Judge instructs jury panel

Complete Montgomery weapons trial coverage:​

• 6/1: Testimony gets underway after opening statements are delivered
• 5/31: Jury selection wraps up in weapons trial for Adam Montgomery

[...]

Prosecutors showed Facebook messages that they said will prove Adam Montgomery was shopping the weapons around for drugs and cash and eventually sold the weapons to someone else.

But the defense team told the jury that a drug addict named Kim Frain let those guns out of her house so she could get more drugs.

"They were taken by Ishmael Garcia with Kim's consent," said defense attorney Caroline Smith. "Adam tried to help him, but he did not steal those guns."

[...]

Frain was openly defiant in court and appeared angry when she was told she would have to return to testify after the lunch break. Prosecutors chased her down the street to remind her of the consequences if she did not come back, which she did.

[...]

"I never lied," she said. "I've always said I had Adam come over. We hung out. He fell asleep. I fell asleep. When I woke up, I saw the thing on the table in the morning, the back door was open, and that is all I know."

Mark Reed, an old high school friend, testified during the afternoon about 1,100 Facebook messages he exchanged with Adam Montgomery starting in 2019. He had to translate some of the slang in the messages, including words like "stick," "notch" and "metal."

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

JUN 1, 2023

Key witness in Montgomery trial admits to lying to grand jury​

[...]

Frain, a recovering drug addict, admitted telling the grand jury that her drug supplier, Ismael Garcia, never held or used any of her husband’s weapons. But Frain actually let Garcia use her husband’s .380-caliber Luger handgun a couple of times in exchange for drugs, she acknowledged on the stand.

[...]

... Both she and Montgomery wanted to buy crack cocaine. They called around to suppliers but found none.

Frain had been on a three-day crack binge, she said, and they both fell asleep in the living room. She testified that when she woke up the next morning, Montgomery was gone, the back door was open and a full crack pipe was on the kitchen counter.

Later that day, her husband came home from a construction job, checked on his guns and found the AR-15, a 12-gauge shotgun, the Luger and some jewelry missing.

[...]

Frain did not initially tell police about Montgomery being there that night.

“I really didn’t think a friend of mine would do that to me at the time,” she testified. “I literally thought we got robbed.”

[...]

Messer reminded Frain she remained under subpoena and told her not to leave the courthouse until she spoke with prosecutors. She did so anyway, prompting prosecutors Benjamin Agati and Christopher Knowles to chase her down Chestnut Street in downtown Manchester.

She later returned to continue her testimony.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1664471469928116225

 

[PommyMommy]

Jun 2, 2023 ​

LIVE: NH v. Adam Montgomery DAY 2 | Weapons Trial​

LIVE: NH v. Adam Montgomery DAY 2 - The father of missing Harmony Montgomery is standing trial on charges unrelated to his daughter’s presumed death.

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1664612721550041089

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1664615591322476545

 

[PommyMommy]

AH is brought into the courtroom.
Audio is muted.
As of 9:10, they are still waiting for Kevin LaBelle to be transported to the courtroom.

I had trouble hearing much of what was discussed with the judge earlier. Sounds like an issue with witness Zimmerman will be addressed at lunchtime.

Source: LIVE: NH v. Adam Montgomery DAY 2 | Weapons Trial - YouTube

 

[PommyMommy]

Sound of handcuffs...apparently Mr. LaBelle has arrived.
The jury is brought in.
The witness is allowed to remain seated while taking the oath.
He has been convicted of several felonies, 31 yrs old, has lived in Manchester all his life.
Oct 2019, he was living with his mother on Pattison (sp?) St.
Met Adam sometime in 2019 while riding his bike, maybe during the Fall.
Adam was living at Guilford St at the time.
They used crack cocaine together & Adam also used heroin.
Adam showed the guns to him - AR 15 and black Mossberg shotgun w/scope in the living room of the Guilford St house.
He bought the shotgun for $250 from Adam. He doesn't recall the price of the AR 15.
Kayla was in the kitchen at the time of the transaction. He and Adam were in the living room.
Adam had retrieved the guns from upstairs.
Adam did not tell him how he got the guns, just that they were "hot."

Source: LIVE: NH v. Adam Montgomery DAY 2 | Weapons Trial - YouTube

 

[PommyMommy]

Kevin LaBelle testimony cont.
Kevin didn't see any other adults in the home but there were children present.
When he told police that he purchased the shotgun and that Adam showed him the guns, he did not have an attorney present.
He gave LE permission to look at his Facebook account.
An immunity order has been issued for his testimony today.
His understanding of the order is that he cannot be charged with anything he has admitted to today.
States exhibit 41 is shown to the witness.
Based on the following questions, it appears the exhibit is the immunity order.
Prosecutor is directing him to paragraph 2.
Witness agrees that it doesn't say anything about statements to police "before."
Witness is dealing with a concussion right now but it doesn't affect his memory of the gun deal.
Witness fired the gun with Adam somewhere near sand dunes.
He wound up selling the gun back to Adam for a gram and 1/2 of crack cocaine.
He believes Adam got rid of the gun to someone else.
They didn't hang out much after that.
$250 transaction was in cash.
Cash was given to Adam Montgomery.
The witness points to Adam in the courtroom.
LaBelle was working for a landscaping company in 2019.

Source: LIVE: NH v. Adam Montgomery DAY 2 | Weapons Trial - YouTube

 

[PommyMommy]

Cross-examination of Kevin LaBelle by Caroline Smith.

She brings up his memory and asks when gun purchase took place.
"Do you remember what time of year?" CS
"You've asked that three times now." KL
"I have asked three times and you still haven't answered." CS
"Do you remember if it was dark out? CS
"Do you remember if it was morning?" CS
The first meeting with police, he didn't tell them he bought the guns.
That meeting was at a halfway house.
She is bringing up his convictions...theft, failure to register as a SO.
In 2019, habitual offender charge, he received probation?
Witness states he's been arrested many times so it's hard to remember.
Witness is given a packet of material and a chance to look it over.

Source: LIVE: NH v. Adam Montgomery DAY 2 | Weapons Trial - YouTube

Off to work...!

 

[nyvictoria]

What a charming cast of characters. This poor child didn’t stand a chance.

 

[PommyMommy]

JUN 2, 2023

Witnesses testify that Adam Montgomery bragged about having guns

Jurors in the Adam Montgomery weapons trial listened to combative and confused witness testimony Friday.

www.wmur.com

[...]

... the last two witnesses of the day Friday were cooperative and said they were neighbors of the Montgomerys. Both said Adam Montgomery bragged about having guns.

"That he had guns that he was selling," said neighbor Tarah Hilbert, adding that he described one as an AR-15.

Two witnesses testified that Adam and Kayla Montgomery were their neighbors on Union Street in 2020 and told them he was hiding the guns in the walls and the ceiling of the Gilford Street house.

"He said he had one, and he sold it, and he was scared about the ATF afterwards," said neighbor Joshua Zimmerman.

Seven witnesses have testified about Adam Montgomery bragging or selling long guns in 2019. Witness Kevin Labelle testified under immunity, and News 9 could not show his face.

"No question of that at all," Labelle said. "I bought the gun. I bought it off him."

[...]

An affable but confused Mark Sullivan spent hours on the witness stand. Defense attorney Caroline Smith worked hard to get his testimony to align with a deposition he gave last year that mentioned Ishmael Garcia, but Sullivan said he was sure it was Adam Montgomery.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1664829179555196928

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1665136816318455810

https://twitter.com/MattJohnsonNEWS

 

[PommyMommy]

JUN 5, 2023​

LIVE: NH v. Adam Montgomery DAY 3 | Weapons Trial​

LIVE: NH v. Adam Montgomery DAY 3 - The father of missing Harmony Montgomery is standing trial on charges unrelated to his daughter’s presumed death. An indictment charges Adam Montgomery with eight counts related to firearms theft in 2019. Authorities accuse Adam of stealing two firearms on two separate dates from the home of a person identified as C.F. in court documents.

 

[PommyMommy]

The prosecution recalls Michael Dobe (sp?) to the stand.
They left off on Friday talking about video coverage from Walmart.
They are re-playing the beginning of the footage which shows an ECO ATM, used to recycle cell phones.
They fast forward 29 minutes into the video.
There are two young women at the ATM.
The witness is asked to point out a male with a tan hat, who he previously identified to police, who appears at 29:57 in the video.
Video is paused at 31 minutes.
The young lady and male in tan hat walk toward the general merchandise area of the store.
Various tracks of video from the cosmetics section are shown.
The male is seen holding a pre-paid phone.
The individuals are seen in an aisle next to the razor blades (witness isn't sure what aisle it is).
The individuals are seen exiting the store.

Cross by Caroline Smith
Confirms with witness that video is from 2021
The witness is asked if he worked at this store at the time. He did not.

Source: LIVE: NH v. Adam Montgomery DAY 3 | Weapons Trial - YouTube

 

[PommyMommy]

The prosecution calls Kayla Montgomery.
She resides in the state women's prison, convicted of perjury.
When asked if it's difficult for her to be here today she responds "yes."
She's crying when answering that she knows Adam and that he's her husband.
She says they were married June 7, 2017. They've known each other since high school.
She has filed for divorce. They have three children together.
Adam was seeing Kelsey Small.
Prior to prison, she was living at 77 Guilford St for about a year and a 1/2.
They were evicted from the home in Nov 2019.
KM is reviewing photos of the home A-J.
[sidebar, no audio]
42A is the driveway and mailbox.
42B is outside of house and front yard.
42C is the basement ceiling
42D is the ceiling in the attic
42E is the storage room in the attic
42F is KM & AM's bedroom and 2 boys
42G and 42H are Harmony's room
42H is the kitchen
42I is the back porch

Source: LIVE: NH v. Adam Montgomery DAY 3 | Weapons Trial - YouTube

 

[PommyMommy]

KM is asked what her life was like back in 2019.
She says she was working up until Nov 2019 at Dunkin Donuts 6AM to 2PM. Adam dropped her off and picked her up because she didn't have a license.
He would leave some nights because they were using drugs. Getting high, using heroin, and crack and weed. KM's drug of choice was both heroin and crack. She is sober now.
When asked what Adam's drug of choice was, KM replied, "heroin."
Adam was unemployed and stayed home with the kids when KM worked.
When asked how they got their drugs, KM says she had money from her job.
They supported the children D, S, and Harmony with her income and food stamps.
KM knew Kimberly Frain from work; had known her since 2016.
She has been to KF's house on Russell St 4 or 5 times.
She knew Chris Frain as well. They were all friends.
The prosecutor brings up the firearms.
KM does not know the names of them but says she remembers two and they were "just big."
She remembers AM showing guns, she was taking care of the kids, she was in the kitchen and it was just chaos in the house that night. A lot of people going in and out. It was nighttime.
She was aware at that point that the guns had been stolen from the Frain's house. People were there to sell drugs to Adam or possibly trade the guns for drugs.
She remembers individuals Mike, and Ish and Manny.
Per KM, they knew guns were missing from the Frain house but didn't know yet that these were the guns AM had.
KM says Kim was freaking out because she knew the guns were missing and she was trying to figure out where they were before her husband came home. Kim was calling people to ask if anyone knew who took them.
KM was not at the Frain house the night the guns were stolen.

Source: LIVE: NH v. Adam Montgomery DAY 3 | Weapons Trial - YouTube

(Wish I could listen to the rest of this but that's all I have time for this morning. )