EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) -- A 50-year-old man is facing charges after allegedly shooting a neighbor in Northeast El Paso in what is an apparent feud that went back several years, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.

 Shooter identified after 'neighbor dispute' in Northeast El Paso 

Richard Montoya, 50, has been arrested in the Sept. 3 shooting of his neighbor, a 49-year-old man, in what appears to be a long-running dispute between neighbors along Windsor Drive. According to police, he is facing a charge of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and discharging a firearm within the City limits.

Montoya told police that he acted in self-defense and that shooting his neighbor was the "last resort."

According to court documents, a different neighbor had a physical altercation with the man who was shot earlier in the day. The neighbor told police that he had seen the victim walk to their parked vehicles and then told him to leave their vehicles alone. The neighbor said the victim had vandalized their vehicles as recently as the day before the shooting.

The victim got into a fight with this neighbor and then walked toward the suspect's house, according to documents. This neighbor said he heard a gunshot and then saw the victim lying on the sidewalk. The neighbor said the suspect said, "He deserved it," according to court documents.

Montoya, the suspect, was brought to Police Headquarters where he was read his Miranda rights and then talked to investigators.

The suspect said he was in bed, falling asleep. He said he heard a "ruckus" coming from outside and grabbed his gun. The suspect then walked outside and began cleaning his yard and
"making sure" everyone was OK in the neighborhood.

The suspect said he saw the victim get into a fight with the first neighbor. That altercation included an elderly woman who was living at the same address as the first neighbor, according to court documents.

The suspect then walked near his neighbor's address and told the victim to go home. But the man who ended up getting shot walked toward the suspect and the suspect's wife, who was also outside.

The future victim told the suspect he was going to "kick his ass," the suspect told police. The suspect had a handgun in his hand and began walking backwards and ended up in his neighbor's property, the suspect said.

The suspect told the victim multiple times to get away from him because he had had back surgery and was unable to defend himself.

The victim continued to lunge at the suspect and the suspect admitted to firing a warning shot in the air, but the victim did not react, according to court documents. The suspect then told the victim that the firearm was "not a toy" and to get away, court documents said.

The suspect said he believed the victim was going to hit his wife but then the victim lunged at him. At this point, the suspect fired at the victim and hit him in the abdomen, according to court documents.

The suspect said he feared for his life, wanted to protect his family and shooting the victim was "the last resort," according to court documents.

The wife of the suspect told police that the victim had driven by their house earlier and had yelled a vulgarity in Spanish. The suspect parked in his driveway and began arguing with a neighbor and got into a physical fight with that neighbor, the wife told police, confirming the neighbor's story.

The suspect's wife said she called 911 at that time. The wife said she saw the victim enter his home and get a firearm. Once the victim got closer to their home, the suspect was out on their property, the wife told police. This contradicted the suspect's story that he was in the neighbor's yard.

The suspect reached over the fence and a gunshot was heard. The suspect's wife was still on the phone with dispatch and told them that a shot had been fired. She told police she only heard one shot.

The sister of the victim told police that the suspect and victim had had a falling-out about five years ago and had had a feud ever since. She also said that her brother had used "crystal" in the past and that had caused some paranoia.

The sister said the victim had also been drinking the day of the incident but did not know the extent.

The neighbors told the sister that her brother had hit them but she didn't see the actual assault.

At this time, the suspect had exited his home and was yelling at the victim. The victim began walking toward the suspect. She heard a loud bang and then another bang. The sister told the suspect that he was a "coward" for shooting her brother but he replied that it was her brother's fault, according to court documents.

At that time, the suspect's wife reportedly yelled that they were going to call immigration on them, according to court documents.

The victim was taken to the hospital and police were told that he suffered damage to his liver, stomach, colon and was in critical condition, court documents said.

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