Father of driver charged in fatal auto-pedestrian crash now faces his own charge

  • Francisco Montes Poncho Portillo Montes is facing an obstruction charge in his son’s murder case.
  • Nathan Michael Portillo is charged with murder in a July 31 hit-and-run.
  • Francisco Portillo allegedly misled police about his son’s vehicle and his knowledge of it.

MURRAY — The father of a man accused of hitting and killing a woman on State Street and driving off — who police say claimed not to know what his son drove, even though he helped him buy the vehicle — is now facing a felony charge of his own.

Francisco Montes Poncho Portillo Montes, 51, of Murray, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.

Just after 11 p.m. on July 31, 2025, Kimberley Jean Jespersen, 53, was crossing 4500 South at State Street in a crosswalk when a Chevrolet hatchback brushed her, according to charging documents. Police say the driver of the hatchback stopped and talked to Jespersen. But while the two were talking, a GMC Sierra pickup truck hit Jespersen. She was taken to a hospital but died during surgery…

Story continues

TRENDING NOW

LATEST LOCAL NEWS