Judge grants defense motion to release Kayla Montgomery on unsecured $5K bond

MANCHESTER — The stepmother of a missing New Hampshire girl accused of lying that the child was living with her to collect welfare benefits has been released from jail on unsecured bond.

Kayla Montgomery, 31, was released Friday evening from Valley Street jail, the result of a bail order written earlier in the day by Hillsborough County Superior Court North Judge Amy B. Messer.

The order came down the day after a bail hearing at which Senior Assistant Attorney general Jesse O’Neill, who is prosecuting the case, and Attorney Paul Garrity, who is representing Montgomery, presented their respective arguments to Messer.

Montgomery, arrested in early January on charges accusing her of theft, welfare fraud and receiving stolen property, had since been held in jail on $5,000 cash or surety bail. But Messer amended the bail order to an unsecured $5,000 bond, meaning Montgomery isn’t required to post the $5,000, but she could risk being liable for it if she doesn’t abide by the terms of the order.

Those include a requirement that she check in daily at police headquarters, continue receiving substance use disorder treatment, generally remain on good behavior, and have no contact with Adam Montgomery, her estranged husband who is believed to be the last person to see his daughter Harmony Montgomery before she disappeared more than two years ago.

Adam Montgomery remains in jail as his case proceeds in court. He was also arrested in January, charged with assault for allegedly hitting Harmony in the face and with stolen firearms allegations.

Neither Adam or Kayla Montgomery have been charged with any offenses directly related to Harmony’s disappearance.

Messer, in issuing her order, agreed with Garrity that Kayla Montgomery should be released on personal recognizance bail because the nature of the charges against her almost never lead to incarceration.

He also cited the state’s bail statute prohibiting a court from detaining defendants based solely on their inability to come up with bail funds. Montgomery, Garrity told Messer, is indigent and has no way to raise bail funds.

Messer also ruled that Kayla Montgomery’s “limited criminal history” shows no indication that she may present a substantial flight risk. Montgomery, Messer noted, has no history of failing to appear in court, and has complied with previous court orders relating to a deferred sentence.

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Although Montgomery is accused of making a phone call from jail in which she asked Adam Montgomery’s father to pass on a message to his son — a violation of her bail conditions — the statement, when taken in context of the overall conversation, isn’t sufficient by itself to affect Messer’s order, she wrote.

She did warn Montgomery that she would risk having her bail revoked if she commits further violations.

It was about 7:30 p.m. Friday when the doors to Valley Street jail’s booking area opened and Kayla Montgomery emerged, trying to cover her face with a mask and her hand while pulling the hood of a sweatshirt down over her forehead.

Greeted by several representatives of local media outlets, she walked briskly to try and avoid them, and as she passed a wing of the facility, she waved to a group of prisoners pounding on the windows from the inside.

Montgomery soon broke into a run as media continued to pursue her in hopes of getting a comment from her. Several blocks later, a blue SUV pulled over and Montgomery jumped in.

Media members watched the SUV head up Valley Street and stop at Manchester police headquarters. Montgomery went in, came out a short time later and got back into the SUV, which drove off.

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The Associated Press and Telegraph contributor Jeffrey Hastings provided material for this report.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 603-594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.