TAMPA, Fla. – For murdering an innocent bystander and injuring five others, Gary Montanez will spend 55 years in prison following a sentence secured today by the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office.
The sentence includes a mandatory 50 years that must be served with no possibility of parole or early release.
Judge Samantha Ward issued the sentence for one count of second-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder after emotional testimony from survivors of the shooting, as well as the family and friends of 34-year-old victim Mike Franck. Franck was killed as Montanez fired from his car into a crowd outside the Palace hookah lounge in the early morning of April 1, 2017.
Franck was an engineer and graduate of Florida State University, who friends say won over any room he was in with his caring and friendly nature.
Through tears, Franck’s girlfriend, Carrie Tillett-Saks, described the phone call when she learned she would never see the love of her life again. “I couldn’t’ breathe. It’s four years later, almost to the day, and I clearly still have trouble breathing. It still feels hard to believe that I had—and lost—someone who loved me the way that Mike did,” she said.
Judge Ward acknowledged the ongoing suffering of Franck’s loved ones and the surviving gunshot victims before delivering the sentence. Montanez showed little reaction and was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.
“This sentence delivers justice for six victims—including Mike Franck, who showed the finest character in his everyday life and in his final moments,” State Attorney Andrew Warren said. “We will not tolerate violence in our community, and anyone who attacks innocent victims will face the full weight of our justice system.”
Montanez spoke briefly in court through a Spanish language translator, apologizing to the victims and claiming that at the time of his shooting, his body was “on autopilot” because he was drunk and not taking his prescribed medication.
Staff threw Montanez, now 26, out of the Palace hookah lounge on South Tampa’s Howard Ave. because of his unruly behavior in the early morning hours of April 1, 2017. Montanez returned in his car with a gun and fired into the group of bystanders outside the business. Franck was killed and five others suffered various injuries—many causing lifelong damage.
Assistant State Attorneys Justin Diaz and Nicki Mohr prosecuted the case, securing a guilty verdict in a November 2020 trial. After scheduling issues created by COVID-19, Montanez received his sentence Friday during a 3 1/2-hour hearing.