Wake couple had a tumultuous past

A mother who was shot to death outside her children's day-care center this week missed chances during the months before her death to protect herself from an abusive boyfriend, court records show.

On Thursday, Daniel Jerome Montgomery of Angier was charged with murder in the death of Jammie Shantel Street of Fuquay-Varina.

Street, while attending Montgomery's hearing on a previous domestic trespassing charge, stayed silent about an assault charge pending against him and later allowed a protective order against Montgomery to expire. She also allowed Montgomery to move back into her home after the assault incident in which she told police he hit her and stole her purse, court records show.

The couple had a 2-year-old son.

Witnesses and police say Street, 30, a school bus driver, was dropping her children off at a church day-care center Wednesday morning when Montgomery allegedly attacked and shot her, then turned the gun on himself.

Montgomery, 31, is still in the hospital after shooting himself in the chest. Police said he is under guard and will be jailed when he recovers.

Despite two domestic violence charges against Montgomery, Wake District Attorney Colon Willoughby said there was little the courts could have done to prevent this week's crime.

"It looks like they were in some relationship that she chose to maintain," Willoughby said. "This is a pattern that is not unusual to us. ... They believe that it's not going to happen again, and often it does happen again."

Their stormy relationship first came to the attention of police in February, when Montgomery was charged with domestic trespassing after entering Street's home without her permission. He was released from jail on $3,000 bail the same day, court records show, which is not unusual for a misdemeanor charge.

Two weeks later, on March1, Street filed another report with police, saying Montgomery hit her in the face and yanked her purse from her, taking $80 in cash, her credit card and her phone.

Police issued warrants for Montgomery's arrest that day for robbery and assault on a female. And on March 3, Street went to court to get a protective order.

But on March 11, Willoughby said, she let the protective order expire by failing to show up in court to extend it.

Later that month, when Montgomery went to court on the trespassing charge, Street filled out a questionnaire affirming that she was not afraid of Montgomery and intended to continue a relationship with him, Willoughby said. She also failed to tell the prosecutor about the March 1 assault.

Because of her silence, the court allowed Montgomery to avoid punishment on the trespassing charge by agreeing to attend domestic violence treatment and not to harass Street again.

Montgomery was scheduled to return to court in March 2010 to check his compliance with the plea agreement.

As his first case worked its way through the system, police and sheriff's deputies could not find him to serve an arrest warrant for the second incident.

Records show that he was not arrested on the assault and robbery charges until Aug. 6, and in the intervening five months, it appears that Street allowed Montgomery to move back into her home. A notation in his file on Aug. 2, a few days before he was arrested, says Montgomery's new address was on Hilltop Circle in Fuquay-Varina, which was Street's address.

After one night in jail, Montgomery was released on $20,000 bail and given a November court date.

But on Wednesday, witnesses said Street's two older children ran into the day care at St. Augusta Missionary Baptist Church about 6:15 a.m., shouting that Montgomery was outside beating their mother. When a worker went outside, she found the 2-year-old roaming the sidewalk. Soon after, she heard gunfire and ushered the boy inside.

Police found Street's body in the road and Montgomery in the bushes across the street.

According to search warrants made public Thursday, members of Street's family told investigators the couple had separated and were living apart. They said Montgomery had made it clear that he had grown jealous and angry over the separation, threatening to "make her pay."

Street's cell phone memory showed someone using a phone police believe to be Montgomery's had repeatedly called her, the warrant says. Street's phone contained text messages, apparently from Montgomery, in which he threatened to hurt and kill her.

Investigators also took "data and information" from Montgomery's phone to compare it to the contents of Street's phone.

Court records also show that in 2000, Street requested another domestic violence protective order, that one against a different man.

Staff writer Jay Price contributed to this article.

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