Temecula, California - The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Central Homicide Unit is searching for Jose Carmelo Torres,[1] age 24, in connection to the murder of Mike Montanez on January 13 2008 at about 540pm.

The suspect, Jose Torres, goes by the moniker, “Minor,” and has been known to frequent the cities of Temecula, Wildomar and Fallbrook. On January 13, 2007, about 5:40 PM, the Temecula Police Department received numerous reports of a gunshot heard at the 42200 block of Moraga Road, City of Temecula.

Within minutes officers arrived on scene and located a male adult near the parking lot, later identified as Mike Montanez. Mr Montanez was suffering from a gunshot wound and was later pronounced deceased at 6:01 PM.

Officers established a perimeter around the apartment complex in search of Torres, whose location is still unknown. Torres is a Hispanic male, 5′08″ 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Torres is considered to be armed and dangerous. If anyone has further information about Jose Torres, please contact Investigator LeClair at (760) 578-2099 or the Riverside Sheriff’s Dispatch Center at (951) 776-1099.