Newport Beach man sentenced to 2 life terms for killing Chino mobile home park operators

A man convicted of first-degree murder for gunning down the owner and the manager of his mobile home park in Chino was sentenced Thursday, Aug. 23, to two consecutive life terms in state prison without the possibility of parole.

On Jan. 28, 2017, Joe Montgomery, 55, retrieved a handgun from his truck and fatally shot Philip Connors, 69, and David Morales, 54, when they tried to serve him with documents that demanded that he comply with rules that he was violating, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Connors, of Newport Beach, owned Four Seasons Mobile Home Park, and Morales, of Chino, was the manager.

Montgomery had several previous confrontations with Morales regarding the violation of rules, the release said. On the day of the shooting, Montgomery drove his truck past the men and then went back to his trailer. Montgomery then drove his vehicle back to where the victims were standing, blocking the victims in.

When Morales tried to give Montgomery the papers, they argued. Montgomery got his gun from the front seat and shot and killed both men. Montgomery fled but was arrested a short time later, the release said.

“We feel the defendant should never be allowed to rejoin society as it has been proven that he is a cold-hearted and calculating murderer,” Connors’ wife, Patricia, said in a victim-impact statement before sentencing.

Chino police and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case.