Woman Found Shot to Death; Boyfriend Arrested as Suspect

A 66-year-old Garden Grove woman was found shot to death Tuesday morning in a closet of the home she shared with her boyfriend, and police arrested him on suspicion of the killing.

Lt. Scott Hamilton said the suspect, Richard Montanez, 53, also shot and killed the couple’s dog.

Montanez was arrested on suspicion of murder and booked into Orange County Jail, where he was being held Tuesday night on $250,000 bail.

Hamilton said officers found the body of Mary Allison with at least one gunshot wound to her head.

Police received a call at 9:30 a.m. from a relative of Montanez reporting that he had shot someone at his home in the 12000 block of Fallingleaf Street, “and, if the police showed up, he would shoot them,” Hamilton said.

Officers surrounded the home. Montanez, who was armed with a short-barreled handgun, apparently did not know police were outside and was arrested as he walked out of the home, Hamilton said.

The officers then searched the home and found the body. Hamilton said it was not immediately known if Allison was killed in the closet or subsequently moved there.

A motive for the slaying had not been determined, but officers said they believed that the couple had some dispute before the shooting.