A 20-year-old Kent man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the 2023 murder of a man he was attempting to carjack at an auto parts store in Federal Way.
On May 23, King County Superior Court Judge Sandra Widlan sentenced Jonathan Montejano to 30 years in prison for first-degree homicide stemming from the Oct. 25, 2023, fatal shooting of Robert E. Blowe III, 26. The sentence went three years above the prosecution’s and the defense’s sentence recommendation of 27 years.
According to documents, the prosecution and the defense requested an exceptional sentence — below the standard sentencing range — due to Montejano’s youth and his guilty pleas to various other crimes. Documents state that with Montejano’s offender score of 15, his sentencing range was between 411 months (about 34 years) and 548 months (about 45 years). On top of the sentence, a mandatory 60-month firearm enhancement must be added to the sentence, which would have put Montejano’s maximum sentence at about 50 years, and his low-end sentence at about 39 years.
Montejano was given a sentence of 300 months (25 years) plus the mandatory 60-month firearm enhancement, which put his total sentence at 360 months (30 years). According to documents, Montejano will receive credit for time served and will be on community custody for 36 months after his release from prison.
‘Crime spree’
Before Blowe’s death, Montejano was on a “crime spree.” Montejano pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree robbery and two counts of burglary. Additionally, as part of the plea negotiations, Montejano would not be charged for 21 takings of vehicles from persons, one overnight vehicle theft and one attempted burglary, according to documents.
One of the burglaries Montejano pleaded to was the Sept. 27, 2023 burglary of RainCity Firearms, where no firearms were taken, but magazines and ammunition were taken. Additionally, Montejano pleaded guilty to another burglary on Sept. 27 at Rehv Arms in Covington, where various firearms were stolen. Documents state that all the firearms from that burglary have yet to be retrieved.
These crimes that Montejano and others committed occurred between Aug. 2023 and Oct. 25, 2023, the day of Blowe’s homicide. Documents state that Montejano and others, at gunpoint, would rob people of their cars, and on two occasions, while in a stolen car, they rear-ended people on the highway, causing them to pull over and then be robbed at gunpoint.
“I apologize for everything I did,” Montejano said in his statement to the judge. “I take full responsibility for all the crimes that were committed. I’m very sorry.”
Giving victim impact statements to the judge were various family members of Blowe’s, including his mother, father, sister, uncle and cousin.
Blowe’s mother, Felicia Morris, said the sentence that was being recommended for Montejano was not enough. Morris said that science does show people under 25 have an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, but teenagers also understand consequences, and that they’re holding a loaded gun and ending a life.
Morris shared that Blowe was strong and loving, and he lived with a good heart. She shared that Blowe had no criminal record. He had dreams, goals, a future, and he worked very hard every day, she said.
“He stood up for what was right. He protected the people he loved. He was the kind of person you can count on,” Morris said. “Solid, steady, real. There was nothing weak or unsure about him. He had a personality no one could fake. That’s what made him special.”
Details of the homicide
According to documents, Montejano, who was 19 at the time, and his codefendant Alhusaine Drammeh, who was 18 at the time, fatally shot Blowe at about 8:50 p.m. Oct. 25, 2023, in the O’Reilly Auto Parts store parking lot, 32411 Pacific Highway S. Blowe died from a gunshot wound to his chest, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
On the night of Oct. 25, 2025, Drammeh reportedly told detectives that he and Montejano were in a Jeep driving around Federal Way when they spotted Blowe’s Dodge Charger on the roadway, according to court documents.
They did a U-turn and followed Blowe with the intention of robbing him of his car because they liked the look of it, according to charging papers. Blowe entered the auto parts store and then returned to his vehicle. Drammeh and Montejano, armed with pistols, approached Blowe, who was seated in the driver’s seat of his Charger.
Drammeh said he pointed his pistol at Blowe and asked him where the keys were, according to court documents. Drammeh said Blowe surrendered the keys, but then produced a handgun and fired at them.
Drammeh said he and Montejano fired their pistols at Blowe before fleeing in the Jeep to Kent. According to documents, video footage of the incident corroborated the details.
On Oct. 26, Kent Police were investigating other incidents involving Drammeh and Montejano, when they found a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT apparently abandoned in a field near SE 212th Street and 131st Place SE. The location was near a residence where Montejano was associated and was known to be staying at recently.
Detectives determined the Jeep had been carjacked in Lake Stevens on Oct. 22, 2023. The Jeep had damage to the front grill that appeared to be caused by gunfire. A broken piece of black plastic found at the O’Reilly Auto Parts store parking lot in Federal Way was an apparent match to the Jeep’s grill, linking it to the murder scene. Fingerprints of both men were found on or within the vehicle.
Later on Oct. 26, Drammeh surrendered to Kent Police at his apartment complex on Russell Road and was taken into custody on burglary charges for two home invasions in Kent on Oct. 15 and Oct. 16.
Montejano also surrendered to Kent Police near his residence, close to where the Jeep was found.
Reporting from a previous Mirror article was used in this story.
Jonathan Montejano at his sentencing, while Robert Blowe III’s mother, Felicia Morris, gives a victim impact statement to the judge. Photo by Joshua Solorzano/The Mirror
