A Bexar County jury has sentenced Ronnie Salas to 70 years in prison for the 2025 shooting death of Andre Montera, closing out a case that began with a jealous confrontation outside a Southwest Side apartment and ended with a cross-state manhunt. Montera, 24, was shot while picking up a coworker before his night shift, and the sentence marks the final chapter in a case that stretched across months and two states.
According to WOAI, a jury in the 144th District Court delivered the 70-year sentence, and prosecutors said Salas believed his girlfriend was having an affair with Montera, who was her coworker. Prosecutors told the court that Salas confronted and shot Montera outside the apartment on April 23, 2025, as Montera arrived to pick up his coworker ahead of his shift. The shooting happened off the 3400 block of Nogalitos Street, near Gladstone Street, at around 5:38 p.m. that day, per San Antonio Crime Stoppers.
Accounts say Montera died after being taken to the hospital. WOAI's earlier coverage stated that Montera was rushed to the hospital and succumbed to his injuries, while San Antonio Crime Stoppers reported that he was pronounced deceased later at the hospital. The seed report on the sentencing states Montera was taken to a hospital after being shot and was pronounced dead there.
A Manhunt That Stretched Into Kansas
Salas did not stick around San Antonio after the shooting. WOAI reported that U.S. Marshals tracked him down on May 15, 2025, in Hoisington, Kansas, roughly 120 miles from Wichita, after a tip placed him in the area. The station also noted that a witness had positively identified Salas in a single-photo lineup conducted by San Antonio police.
The arrest itself came from a coordinated effort on the ground in Kansas. The station reported that the Kansas Apprehension Task Force provided information leading the Barton County Sheriff’s Office and Hoisington Police Department to locate and arrest Salas in Hoisington, in line with what KSAT described around the same time. From there, getting him back to Texas took months.
Nearly Three Months Before Extradition
Salas was not extradited to Bexar County until August 6, 2025, nearly three months after his arrest in Kansas, as reported by KSAT. That delay drew frustration from Montera's family, who had been pressing for the case to move forward. By the time Salas landed back in Bexar County, the district attorney's office confirmed his case had already been indicted, and his bond was set at $350,000 with a hearing scheduled for November 3, according to the same KSAT report from August.
Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Cassandra Rosales and Caitlin Morgan led the prosecution, with victim advocate Rebecca Garcia and investigator Edward Saucedo supporting the case, per the seed report's account. Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said the sentencing delivered accountability and honored Montera's memory, adding that his office remains committed to protecting innocent lives and upholding the rule of law.
Crime Stoppers had offered up to $5,000 for information leading to a felony arrest in the case while Salas remained a fugitive, an incentive that ran alongside the broader law enforcement effort to locate him before his eventual capture in Kansas.
