Arrested for allegedly trying to kill his wife
Roseville, Calif.- Claude Montgomery, the 91-year-old Roseville man who was arrested in October for allegedly trying to kill his wife, has pleaded guilty to charges of assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting corporal injury to a spouse and making criminal threats.
Montgomery entered the pleas Friday before Placer County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Penney and will receive six months in jail and will be placed on formal probation for four years when he returns for sentencing on Feb. 3.
In an arrangement made with the Placer County District Attorney’s Office, Montgomery is expected to serve all 180 days in custody and then move to the Bay Area with relatives and away from the victim in Roseville.
Prosecutor Jim Deslaurier said investigation into the case and its unique circumstances factored into the agreement that allowed Montgomery to plead to the charge of felony assault likely to produce great bodily injury, but the offense will not count as a strike on his criminal record. A charge of attempted murder was dismissed.
The counts of corporal injury and making criminal threats will be misdemeanors on the defendant’s record.
Montgomery was arrested Oct. 25 after Roseville police responded to a 911 call made by the defendant’s 78-year-old wife, who suffered minor injuries in a physical scuffle with her husband, who also threatened her with a knife as she tried to make the emergency phone call.
Montgomery continues to be held in the Placer County Jail in Auburn in lieu of $100,000 bail.