A television sportscaster who was shot outside his San Diego-area home earlier this year confronted his attacker in court on Tuesday.
Kyle Kraska, a sportscaster with KFMB-TV (Channel 8), said he hired Mike Montana to help him paint his home in the Scripps Ranch neighborhood of metropolitan San Diego back in February.
Kraska said he called one of Montana’s references and, after speaking with the man about the job, said Montana sounded “enthusiastic” to be considered for the job.
“I felt like he needed the work, and I wanted to give him an opportunity,” Kraska said in court on Tuesday.
The sportscaster initially agreed to pay Montana $3,000 to paint his home, fronting him $800 for supplies. But during the course of his employment, which started sometime last year, Kraska said Montana repeatedly failed to show up for work, left clothes and other items strewn across his lawn and asked for money on numerous occasions.
Kraska, unsatisfied with the job Montana was doing, let the independent contractor go. He didn’t hear from Montana for several months until Kraska said he was awakened by the sound of someone knocking on his door. When he answered, he found a note taped to his door purportedly written by Montana that demanded $2,200.
“Please don’t lie to me anymore,” the note said, according to Kraska’s testimony.
One week later, ask Kraska was leaving for work, he saw a white van pull up in his driveway. Montana emerged and said, “You should have paid me my $2,200,” Kraska testified.
“I looked down and saw holes in my clothing,” Kraska said in court. “I was hoping he would run out of bullets at some point.”
The injured man crawled around 50 feet to the center of his cul-de-sac where people eventually saw him and rendered aid.
Kraska’s testimony came during a pre-trial hearing where a judge is expected to decide whether the prosecution has presented enough evidence against Montana for the case against him to move forward. If Montana goes to trial and loses, he faces more than 38 years in prison.
