Jermaine L. Montgomery will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing Chinese food delivery driver Yong Zhang last summer after luring him to a vacant building.
Montgomery, 34, was sentenced today to three life sentences after pleading guilty to capital murder, robbery and abduction.
The plea agreement spares Montgomery the possibility of the death penalty and spares the state the estimated $1 million cost to proceed with the three-week trial that had been scheduled to start Aug. 31.
The evidence shows that Zhang was abducted in Fredericksburg and stabbed to death in Spotsylvania. His body was later recovered in the woods in Sussex County.
Marcey White, Montgomery's accomplice, has already pleaded guilty to six charges in Fredericksburg, including abduction and carjacking. She has not been sentenced.
Tony Greene, the man accused of helping Montgomery dispose of the body in Sussex, is charged there with being an accessory after the fact.
Both White and Greene were expected to testify against Montgomery had the case gone to trial.
Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely abandoned his push for the death penalty following a recent hearing in which it was proven that vultures were responsible for Zhang's severed ear and gouged-out eye.
Authorities previously believed that Montgomery caused that damage. The "depravity" demonstrated by such actions would have been key in Neely's effort to get the death penalty. After Judge David Beck ruled that the prosecution could not use the mutilation as a basis for seeking the death penalty, Neely determined there was little chance of winning a death verdict.
"The triple life sentence imposed today is the toughest sentence imposed in Spotsylvania in over 27 years," Neely said. "It means that Montgomery will die in prison."
The plea agreement outlines the overwhelming evidence against Montgomery.
Zhang was working for his family's business, China Express in Fredericksburg, when the business received a telephone order for two dinners about 9 p.m. July 3.
When Zhang hadn't returned more than an hour later, city police were called. Blood was found at the vacant apartment building, but Zhang was not.
White told authorities that she and Montgomery, her on-again, off-again boyfriend, had taken a bus to Fredericksburg about a week earlier to seek work.
They stayed briefly with White's sister, but the sister did not like Montgomery and told the couple to leave.
White said she and Montgomery then hatched a plan to rob a delivery driver of money and a vehicle so Montgomery could get to a welding job in Maine.
White ordered the food and watched as Zhang's car pulled into a lot behind 202 Charles St.
Montgomery, who had been hiding near the building's entrance, assaulted Zhang with a steel pipe and tossed his car keys to White.
White told police that Zhang was bleeding and pleading for help as Montgomery tied him up with a luggage cord and took his wallet.
After putting Zhang in the trunk, the couple drove to Lee's Hill Shopping Center in Spotsylvania and pulled in behind the old Capital One building.
There Montgomery repeatedly beat Zhang with the pipe in an effort to stop him from yelling for help from the trunk.
Montgomery told Zhang they would let him go eventually if he was quiet, but Zhang kept yelling and struggling. One of the blows missed Zhang and broke out the rear window of the car.
Montgomery then told White to drop him off at a nearby Bloom's so he could buy plastic to cover the broken window. White parked in the rear of the store while Zhang continued yelling for help.
He was still yelling when Montgomery returned. White then drove to the rear of the Quest Diagnostics in the same shopping center and parked near a trash can.
Montgomery went to the trunk and again threatened Zhang with the pipe. Zhang continued to cry for help and was beaten yet again.
White said she did not know Montgomery had purchased a butcher knife in Bloom's until he asked her to hand it to him from a bag.
After stating, "he's not going to be quiet," Montgomery stabbed Zhang in the chest. After Zhang was dead, the couple used the plastic and duct tape he'd just purchased to cover the window.
The couple retrieved some luggage they'd hidden behind a shed near White's sister's home, then went to the Four Mile Fork Shell. There Montgomery used Zhang's credit card to buy gas, beer and cigarettes.
White then drove to Southampton County, where Montgomery is from. Montgomery contacted Greene and got him to help him dump Zhang's body in Sussex early July 4.
White drove his car to another wooded area in Southampton, where Greene and Montgomery hid it in the woods.
The couple spent the night at Greene's home. After getting up the morning of July 5, the two men dumped the bloody clothes in a trash can.
Later that day, the trio were apprehended at the Wal–Mart in Franklin, where they were using Zhang's credit card to make purchases. Police had been tracking the card.
Zhang's wallet was found in White's purse. Montgomery's identification was in the wallet.
In addition, Zhang's DNA was found on the knife and the pipe, both of which were recovered.
The blood was also found on the pants Montgomery dumped in Southampton. The fingerprints of both Montgomery and White were found in Zhang's car and on numerous items related to the case, including a cigarette butt left at 202 Charles St.
Surveillance video from the Four Mile Fork Shell shows Montgomery using Zhang's credit card at 10:47 p.m. on July 3, the day Zhang was abducted.
The plea agreement also mentions the devastating effect the slaying had on the Zhang family, who gave up the business and returned to China as a result.
A serious illness since suffered by Zhang's mother is cited among the reasons Neely decided to offer the plea deal. Court records say that requiring the family to return for a trial would pose a hardship.
Attorneys Mark Gardner, Joe Flood and Matthew Engle represented Montgomery.
Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
kepps@freelancestar.com
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