Delavan man sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted homicide
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ELKHORN—Tyler Montour's sister asked Judge David Reddy to believe her when she said her brother's actions stemmed from a 2012 home invasion, not a gang affiliation.
She told Reddy not to believe the prosecutor's portrayal of her 25-year-old brother, who was found guilty of shooting and injuring a man outside a Delavan bar in June.
“I sat here and listed to the DA paint a picture that he's a monster. He's not,” she said Tuesday in Walworth County Court.
Reddy disagreed, saying Montour's remorse and willingness to take responsibility for his actions were “too little, too late.” He sentenced Montour to 25 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision for first-degree attempted homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon.
“This was a gang-related drive-by shooting directed at an unarmed gang member. … The public of our county have the absolute right to be protected from violent, antisocial deviants of this sort,” Reddy said.
A jury found Montour guilty in September. During the three-day trial, Blake Kruizenga testified that Montour shot at him and another man as they stood outside the bar.
Montour was a member of a gang, and Kruizenga and the other man belonged to a rival gang, prosecutor Dan Necci and defense attorney Melissa Frost said.
The night of the June 12 shooting, Kruizenga and Montour spoke in the bar's bathroom about Montour's sister and brother-in-law, who were victims of the 2012 robbery.
Later, while Kruizenga and the other man involved in the robbery were outside the bar smoking cigarettes, the two saw a vehicle speeding toward them and heard gunfire, Necci said during the trial.
Montour of Delavan was in the passenger seat shooting while his brother-in-law drove the car, Necci said.
Kruizenga suffered two gunshot wounds in his leg. The other man was uninjured.
The shooting was in response to the robbery of Montour's sister and brother-in-law, Frost said. Kruizenga and the man beat the brother-in-law and dragged Montour's sister by the hair, she said.
The shooting was the culmination of the robbery, Montour's drug and alcohol addictions, and “bad luck,” she said.
After the jury found him guilty, Montour met with Delavan police and told them what happened that night, including that his brother-in-law texted him saying, “It's Blake I want,” and provided the gun and getaway car, Frost said.
Montour apologized Tuesday to his family and anyone hurt by his actions. He cried while his sister spoke to Reddy.
Necci, who recommended 30 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision for both felonies, said Montour's actions were aimed at gaining stature within his gang, and his actions should not be tolerated.
“Let's make no mistake here. This defendant will gain prestige in the eyes of his peers for what he has done,” Necci said. “He will be the big man on campus.”
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