A 24-year-old Arlington man with a documented history of firearms-related offenses is behind bars after allegedly shooting a teenage relative — a case that raises urgent questions about how repeat offenders end up back on the street with weapons in hand.
Erick Montgomery was booked into the Arlington jail on March 21, 2026, at 3:25 p.m., one day after the shooting was reported, according to jail records. He faces three charges: aggravated assault — family violence with a weapon causing serious bodily injury, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and child endangerment. The case number on file is 2026-00790523.
A Family Incident With Serious Consequences
The victim is described as a teenage relative of Montgomery’s — someone who, by any measure, should have been safe at home. Details about the teen’s current condition have not been officially released, but the charge of serious bodily injury leaves little room for optimism. Family violence cases involving firearms are among the most dangerous calls law enforcement responds to, and this one is no exception.
What makes this case particularly troubling isn’t just the violence itself. It’s the pattern behind it.
Montgomery was no stranger to the criminal justice system long before March 20th. At just 18 years old, he was charged federally with theft from a Federal Firearms Licensee and possession of stolen firearms, charges that stem from a period of civil unrest and were prosecuted through the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, as documented by the Department of Justice. That early brush with federal law — specifically involving stolen guns — makes the current unlawful possession charge feel less like a surprise and more like an unresolved thread finally snapping.
A Legal History That Keeps Surfacing
The record doesn’t stop there. Court filings from 2024 show a Montgomery — believed to be the same individual — involved in an appeal case in the 102nd District Court of Bowie County, Texas, contesting a ruling by the State. The specifics of that appeal weren’t immediately available, but the timeline fits: a young man cycling through the courts, with legal entanglements piling up across multiple Texas jurisdictions.
So how does someone with a federal firearms conviction end up, years later, allegedly shooting a family member with another gun? That’s the question prosecutors and the public will be asking — and it’s one the system doesn’t always answer cleanly.
Still, the legal machinery is now moving. Montgomery’s booking into custody puts him squarely in the crosshairs of both state assault statutes and felon-in-possession laws, the latter of which carries significant federal sentencing exposure on its own. Prosecutors have options here, and given his prior record, they’ll likely use them.
What Comes Next
As of this writing, no court date has been publicly announced. The Arlington Police Department’s filing with state authorities confirms the booking is official and active. The teenage victim’s identity is being withheld, as is customary in cases involving minors and family violence.
Child endangerment as a standalone charge signals that investigators believe the circumstances of the shooting put a minor at risk in ways that go beyond the shooting itself — whether that means other children were present, or that the environment in the home was deemed unsafe. Either way, it adds another layer to an already serious case.
Montgomery remains in custody. Whether he’ll remain there through trial is a question for a judge — but with three charges, a prior federal conviction, and a victim who is a minor family member, the argument for keeping him off the streets is not a difficult one to make.
Some cases are shocking. This one, when you trace the full timeline, is something else entirely — it’s the kind of outcome that starts looking almost inevitable the further back you read.
