Marc Anthony Montes

Marc Anthony Montes was a 39-year-old man. On the evening of October 5, 2021, he was a passenger in a Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by his common law partner, Jennifer Montes, in University Park, Texas. Just before 7 p.m., near a Shell gas station in the Snider Plaza area, witnesses heard gunshots. Moments later, they saw Marc being pushed from the moving truck onto Lovers Lane.

A bystander and then a police officer performed CPR on Marc until paramedics arrived. He was transported to Parkland Hospital, where he died from his injuries. The shooting was a rare occurrence for the community, marking its first homicide in 16 years. Investigators released a security camera image of the suspect vehicle, describing it as a two-toned, champagne-colored 2004 to 2006 Ford F-150 equipped with running boards, a bed cover, and tinted windows. The truck was last seen driving south away from the scene.

The day after the shooting, on October 6, 2021, University Park police arrested a juvenile suspect. Authorities stated they believed the juvenile was "directly responsible for the shooting death" of Marc Montes. Citing the suspect's age, police released no further information about the individual.

Two weeks later, on October 20, 2021, police made a second arrest in the case. With assistance from the Dallas Police Department, officers took Jennifer Montes, also identified as Jennifer Benavidez, into custody on a warrant for tampering with evidence. Police confirmed she was the person driving the truck at the time of the shooting.

In early December 2021, a Dallas County grand jury reviewed the case against Jennifer Benavidez and declined to indict her on the charge. As of December 13, 2021, she remained in custody on other, unspecified charges. The status of the case against the juvenile suspect has not been updated publicly. Anyone with information is asked to call the University Park Police Department's non-emergency number at 214-363-3000.