The Ryderwood man accused of shooting his wife three times in January is set to review whether he is competent to stand trial.
Lawrence Daniel Montero, 55, is scheduled March 16 to appear in Cowlitz County Court for a competency review. He is charged with first-degree premeditated attempted murder after allegedly shooting his wife, Jessica A. Cuppy, 41, of Ryderwood, on the night of Jan. 20, with a semi-automatic handgun.
Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Marilyn Hann set Montero’s bail at $1 million with conditions, and he was in Cowlitz County Jail as of Monday afternoon.
A no-contact order against Montero was issued, and he has to maintain at least a 100-yard distance from Cuppy.
Cuppy told The Daily News she is still healing from her wounds and that the shooting came “out of left field.”
On Jan. 20, deputies were dispatched to the 400 block of Monroe Street at roughly 10:58 p.m. after the victim’s mother told authorities her daughter said Montero attacked her and was armed, according to a police report.
At 11:02 p.m., authorities received an update that the husband had since shot Cuppy and she was “laying on the ground,” police report. The man was allegedly screaming that he shot a person breaking into his home.
According to court documents, when deputies arrived at the scene, they saw Cuppy “laying in the corner of the yard wrapped in blankets.” She sustained two gunshot wounds to the abdomen and another in the arm, police report.
While providing medical aid to Cuppy, she said, “he did it on purpose. I know he did it on purpose. He knew I was coming home. He locked me out,” a police report states.
First responders sent the woman to the hospital for medical attention, and Montero, who was on the phone with dispatch, was handcuffed at the scene and placed in a patrol car.
Montero allegedly told dispatch that he shot his wife because she “was trying to climb in [the] window” and thought she was “breaking in [the] front door” and that [he] shot her center mass.”
The report mentions there was no blood on Montero and that it didn’t “appear that he attempted to render aid” to Cuppy after the shooting.
After being read his Miranda rights, Montero told authorities that after hearing noises, he ran upstairs to grab a gun and then “unloaded two magazines” through a closed door. Investigators would later find 19 bullet holes in the door and wall.
The probable cause statement notes that investigators found two empty magazines, a Glock, and a 50-count box of .40 caliber ammunition with 21 rounds missing.
