MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man accused of torturing and raping a woman in East Memphis nearly seven years ago is going to trial after he already pleaded guilty.
Kelvin Montgomery‘s fate will now be in the hands of a jury this summer. In 2014, Montgomery reportedly met a woman at a bar and brought her back to a house on Willow Road.
“He is an evil, dangerous man,” the victim told WREG.
She told us he drugged her, tied her up, beat and raped her. She had to play dead and wait until he fell asleep.
“I just got up and ran about five blocks in the middle of the night trying to get someone to please open the door because I was bloody and naked,” she told us in 2016.
Montgomery was charged with attempted first degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated rape. He was given a $100,000 bond that he quickly made.
In 2016, he entered a plea deal, admitting he was guilty in exchange for 12 years with no parole.
The victim and her family told WREG they didn’t think that was enough time. But they were even more upset to find out that, since he was out on bond, he was able to skip town.
He never showed up to serve his sentence.
It wasn’t until a year later that authorities finally tracked Montgomery to a boat in Alabama.
A man who lived nearby claimed Montgomery went by the name Mike and was living with a woman who authorities say had been reported missing for a year.
Montgomery served time for a gun charge in Alabama but is back in Memphis. The Shelby County District Attorney’s office told us the plea deal is off, and Montgomery is set to go to trial this summer. His bond is now set much higher: $1.1 million.
WREG Investigators uncovered a letter Montgomery wrote in jail, upset with the high bond.
He wrote that he’s a man “of little means,” and his attorney Leslie Ballin “quit in the middle of the case.” He said he needs “the lowest bond possible,” suggesting “$75,000” instead, so that he can have “freedom and retain an attorney for his defense.” He promised he’d be “present at all proceedings.”
It was sent in November. His bond has yet to be lowered.
Meanwhile, the victim is still having to deal with a case that should have been closed by now. Her family says they are aware Montgomery will now go to trial, but didn’t want to do an interview.
Montgomery is set for trial July 19.
