Son accused father of faking heart attack

From: Wyoming News, WY - 08 Jan 2003

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - A man jailed in his father's death allegedly struck him twice and accused him of ''faking it'' as he lay dying of a heart attack.

Jimmie Joe Montgomery, 24, was arrested Sunday and is being held on $100,000 bail on suspicion of manslaughter and third-degree assault.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Bert Montgomery and his son began arguing Friday after Bert Montgomery went through his belongings.

A younger brother, Joshua, 22, said he went upstairs to see what was making his brother angry. The father, who is deaf, and his two sons argued, using words and sign language.

Then Jimmie Joe Montgomery allegedly shoved his father into a wall twice. Bert Montgomery asked Joshua to dial 911 and ask deputies to remove his older son from the house.

The father went into the living room and signed to his wife, who is also deaf, that their son had struck him in the chest and face, according to the affidavit.

He collapsed and she told investigators that her eldest son then came in shouting obscenities and saying, ''He's full of (expletive). He's faking it.''

Family members said Jimmie Joe Montgomery knew his father had a heart condition.

An autopsy found the elder Montgomery's death was natural, however investigators said physical exertion and emotional stress could have been a factor in his death.

[copyright] by the Casper Star-Tribune published by Lee Publications, Inc., a subsidiary of Lee Enterprises, Incorporated