Overview
- A jury found Ray Fitzgerald Montgomery guilty of misdemeanor domestic violence after roughly three hours of deliberation on July 2, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said.
- Prosecutors say Montgomery dragged a 42-year-old woman down a hallway in his home on June 6, 2024, and choked her by pressing her neck between his forearm and bicep until she nearly lost consciousness.
- The victim ran, hid in a bathroom to call for help, went to Stanford Hospital the next day, and later identified Montgomery to San Jose police on Nov. 26, 2024.
- Before criminal charges, Montgomery filed a defamation lawsuit in 2025 against the woman alleging false accusations; that civil case is still pending and will proceed separately from the criminal case.
- Montgomery, a former executive director of People Acting in Community Together and a local pastor, is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 8, 2026, facing up to a year in jail, fines, probation, and other court-ordered restrictions while the conviction prompts reputational and organizational fallout.