Investigators believe a personal feud may have led an active duty soldier to shoot a 30-year-old man to death in broad daylight Tuesday afternoon on Savannah’s southside.
Savannah-Chatham police officers found Armondo Montes dead just before 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the tire repair shop he owned at the corner of White Bluff Road and Hampstead Avenue, said Julian Miller, police spokesman.
Within minutes of the shooting, Miller said, 31-year-old Emanuel Perez turned himself in to Military Police at nearby Hunter Army Airfield.
Perez allegedly shot Montes several times after a confrontation stemming from a personal dispute between the two individuals. The soldier was turned over the Savannah-Chatham police Tuesday afternoon who charged him with murder. He was booked into the Chatham County jail.
Throughout much of the afternoon violent crimes detectives and forensic investigators remained at Brother’s Tire Repair LLC, where they focused their investigation between a black sedan directly in front of a service bay and a large, dark blue Ford truck. The truck was later towed from the scene.
Montes was Savannah’s ninth homicide victim in 2013. Savannah-Chatham police have made arrests in four of the previous cases.
Miller said the investigation into Tuesday’s shooting death will continue.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637). Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward.
A confidential Tip Line also is open directly to investigators at 912-525-3124.