The Mineral County Sheriff’s Office is in custody of a homicide suspect who was picked up in Mineral County on Oct. 25 for various charges.

Christopher Montoya

Christopher Montoya was stopped by Mineral County deputies on Oct. 25 when they attempted to stop a newer gray model Toyota truck for speeding.

In a statement from Undersheriff Bill Ferguson, it states that once the deputy activated the emergency lights, Montoya began to yield and then quickly accelerated away from the deputies.

“The pursuit reached speeds of 100 miles per hour, before Montoya entered the desert area west of Armory Road,” Under Sheriff Ferguson explained to the Independent-News.

The deputies quickly located the Toyota in the desert blacked out. When they arrived at the vehicle, they found Montoya hiding in the desert. He was taken into custody without incident.

While Montoya sat in the Mineral County Detention Center for the following charges: aggressive driving, first offense-E/PSZ; driver disobey peace officer; possession burglary tools; unlaw purchase/receipt/acquire meth precursor; basic speed – 11-15 miles per hour over posted limit; obtain dangerous drug by fraud/forgery and possess schedule I, II, III, IV controlled substance e(first/second) for a bail total of $35,105 bond or cash, the sheriff’s office was contacted by Phoenix, Ariz. detectives and advised that Montoya was a suspect in a homicide investigation in that state.

The statement explains that on Oct. 24, 2017, “just before 7 p.m., Phoenix Police responded to a welfare check at a residence near 3200 East Fremont Road.”

Abbigail Rinaldi, a 32-year-old female, had failed to show up to work for over a week and had not been seen and a co-worker called the Phoenix Police, concerned.

“Text messages were sent from the victim’s phone stating where she was; however, these statements were disproved. The co-worker responded to the victim’s home with friends and found signs of forced entry,” the statement described.

Upon arrival, Phoenix Police located human remains and signs of foul play. Those remains would be identified as those of Rinadli.

After Montoya’s arrest, Phoenix detectives flew into Hawthorne to interview him.

At this time, Montoya is currently being held at the Mineral County Detention Facility with a $500,000 cash-only bail.