LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The family of James "Jay" Montoya is continuing their fight for justice two years after his murder.
"Our family is just not the same. It'll never be the same, and it's just unfortunate," said Jay's mother, Corinna Montoya.
The 26-year-old disappeared early on April 2, 2023, after leaving The Hangar 101 Bar in Lakewood.
According to his family, he had left the bar with a group he had just met that night. They grew concerned when they didn't hear from him the next day.
His mother said her son used Snapchat around S. Federal Boulevard and W. Alameda Avenue after leaving the bar early on April 2. However, he had no contact with family or friends after that. His remains were found three months later in July, nearly four hours away in Saguache County.
In October 2023, the Denver Police Department announced that they had identified the suspect as Jesus Angel Arvizo, 33.
Arvizo is wanted on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the death. He has still not been located.
The suspect lives in Denver but may be in the Alamosa area in south-central Colorado, according to police.
From the beginning, Jay's family said they suspected Arvizo of being the suspect when they began to piece together the events of that night themselves.
"We spoke with him actually on the phone. And we talked with him, and he said he dropped my son off at a certain location, which we believe didn't happen. And so ever since then, my son never called or came back home," Corinna Montoya said in a previous interview with Denver7.
Corinna Montoya said Arvizo had denied any kind of involvement.
"But we just knew something in our heart. We knew he was lying," she said. "We knew this was not normal for my son to disappear like this. So, we were just really reaching out to the police to say, 'Please take this serious.' And so finally, you know, that's what took place."
Several months have passed since then, and Arvizo is still on the run.
"It feels wrong. It feels like, how can he, you know, be this good at hiding?" she said. "He can run for only so long, and no matter what, he's going to get caught."
Investigators had determined that Montoya had been killed in Denver. During a press conference in 2023, officials said that while Jay was riding in a car with the strangers near W. 49th Avenue and Bannock Street in Denver early on April 2, he became involved in an argument and was shot and killed in the vehicle.
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But Jay's family said they later discovered more details about what had happened.
"We found out later that my son made a little snippy remark about something that the guy liked to do, and [Jay] noticed that he got upset. And from the back seat, he was like, 'Hey dude, sorry. I was just messing with you. I'm just joking. It was a joke.' And then, probably 5-10 minutes later, he just turns around and shoots my son — right in the car," Corinna Montoya said.
Although nothing can fill the void their son left behind, the Montoya family said they're keeping his memory close to their heart and continue to pray that his killer is brought to justice.
"This was a senseless crime that did not need to happen, and he needs to be held responsible," Corinna added.
Anybody with information on the suspect's whereabouts can anonymously call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
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