FISHERS (June 24, 2014) – A fight over a girl and a dispute over a stolen phone led to the death of a Fishers teen, according to court documents.
The probable cause affidavit obtained Tuesday by FOX59 says 18-year-old Connor Shockley and 18-year-old Corbin Montgomery were feuding over a girl, an ongoing fight that spilled over into social media and came to a head Sunday night. It ended with Shockley dead after being stabbed three times in the 8900 block of Wooster Court near Harrison Parkway and Lantern Road shortly before 11 p.m.
A friend said Shockley had come to his home and met with Montgomery and his girlfriend earlier in the evening. They argued briefly, and then took off in Montgomery’s car together after being asked to leave the home. About 15-30 minutes later, witnesses heard yelling. Shockley and Montgomery were involved in an altercation, and Shockley was face down on the ground, holding his chest. Montgomery and the girl drove off.
Montgomery told investigators that he and Shockley had been feuding via text messages, Twitter and FaceTime “for the last three days” about Montgomery’s girlfriend. Montgomery said Shockley was “cool” with him when he approached his car to talk. Shockley told Montgomery he “was not trying to get with” Montgomery’s girlfriend.
Montgomery said he and Shockley were talking when Shockley asked to use his phone because he’d forgotten his. He then used the phone to text a friend and pulled out his own phone, according to court documents. Shortly after that, Shockley ran off with Montgomery’s phone.
Montgomery “stated he got his knife from his vehicle compartment and ran after” Shockley. After chasing down the other teen, Montgomery said Shockley punched him in the face. Montgomery “stabbed him multiple times,” court documents said, and he left the area in his car with the girl. The girl took Montgomery’s phone away from Shockley.
Montgomery said he called his father and then returned to the scene to speak with police. He told investigators the knife was in his car. He said he kept it for protection and “later advised that he purchased this knife only about a week ago.” Police found the knife in his car, a folding knife with a 4″ or 5″ blade. “Blood was also located in multiple locations within the car,” court documents said.
Montgomery said he yelled for Shockley to give his phone back while chasing him. The chase went through a couple of yards and ended up in a side yard between some houses. He again told police that Shockley punched him in the face, and the stabbing happened after that.
Montgomery “stated that Connor did hit him multiple times after Corbin stabbed Connor but then Connor slowly stopped hitting him.”
He recalled hitting Shockley “three times in the chest area or maybe a leg” and estimated that it “took about 15 seconds.” He said the area was dark and he couldn’t see much. He also told officers that Shockley fell during the chase, giving Montgomery the chance to catch up. When Shockley got back up, Montgomery said the other teen punched him. Shockley fell a second time after the stabbing, court documents said.
He said he left the scene of the fight when Shockley’s friends started to arrive. He “didn’t think that Connor’s friends were coming after him, but just running up because they were surprised about what was going on.” He didn’t consider the group a threat.
Montgomery said that he and Shockley were “cool” and that all of his “steam and anger” over their feud went away when they talked in the car. He considered the stabbing self-defense. The investigating officer asked Montgomery if “all that steam and anger” returned when Shockley took his phone. Montgomery answered, “Yeah…sort of…yeah,” court documents said.
“I told Corbin I think everything came to a head tonight and he had an opportunity to get a little payback,” the officer wrote. “I explained that Corbin chose to get his knife, pursue Connor, and use the knife. I asked Corbin if he agreed and he stated that he did.”
Friends of both young men told Fox59 the two had not been close friends, but had been “cool” with each other until recently.
“They were fine,” said Kristen Tarter, a friend of Shockley and classmate of Montgomery. “I didn’t see anything happening until the whole girlfriend situation came in.”
Another friend said the stabbing was out of character for Montgomery, although his behavior had recently changed where his girlfriend was concerned. She said it’s not the first time Montgomery had gotten into a fight over the same girlfriend.
“I didn’t know he would take it this far,” said Lily O’Donnell. “I didn’t know something like this could happen.”
Montgomery appeared in Hamilton County court Tuesday afternoon, where he is now formally charged with Murder. Hamilton County prosecutors dropped a preliminary charge of Involuntary Manslaughter. Montgomery will be held whithout bond in the Hamilton County jail until a pretrial hearing scheduled for September 5th.
