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A jury finds a man guilty of murder in a 2019 murder in Gifford over $40

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VERO BEACH – A Gifford man faces life in prison after a jury convicted him Thursday of fatally shooting a man over a $40 dispute, according to court records and a prosecutor.

Delray Montaque, 38, of the 3400 block of 44th Place, who was in court Monday, was charged Thursday with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Mertilian “Tilly” Mesinor, 29, also of Gifford, on Dec. 19, 2019 sentenced.

According to Assistant District Attorney William Long, Mesinor was killed in the 4400 block of 35th Avenue in an incident that had earlier started with a dispute over money.

Long thanked jurors Friday for solving a “complicated murder case” involving two siblings: Mertilian Mesinor, who was killed, and his younger brother Loren Ford, who witnessed the shooting and testified against Montaque in court.

Jurors were told the murder occurred “over $40 and some pot,” Long said.

“Loren Ford, the younger victim in the case, worked as a drug dealer for the defendant, who was also a drug dealer. He (Ford) drove alone and he shouldn’t have done that,” Long said. “He started selling drugs for himself right next to the defendant’s house instead of working for the defendant.”

Montaque and Ford began arguing over $40, and when Ford couldn't get his money back, he asked his older brother to help him get it back, Long said.

But that led to a major argument outside Montaque's home, where Ford stood with Mesinor and his 3-year-old son, who was in a stroller.

According to Long, during the argument, Mesinor threatened Montaque, telling him, “I will kill you, your mother, your baby and everyone in your family.”

Then Ford and Mesinor began to walk away.

“(Montaque) gets in his truck, finds out where they are, waits for them, gets out of that truck and shoots them,” Long said.

Mesinor later died at a hospital, court records show.

Montaque, who was also convicted of attempted first-degree murder, initially told investigators he was defending himself when he shot Mesinor.

Montaque refused to take the stand during his trial, records show.

Long said Indian River County Sheriff's Detective Shannon Kartak discovered “important evidence” in letters Montaque wrote to people outside the Indian River County Jail to influence what witnesses said about him at his upcoming trial.

In the letters the jury saw, Montaque “solicited for testimony and offered to pay witnesses,” Long said.

“He's asking witnesses not to be present,” Long said. “It was of great importance for us to be able to establish the defendant's state of mind and show that nothing was justified: that he tried to fabricate a statement to say that he was justified for what he did was.”

When Montaque is sentenced on Jan. 7, he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to court records.

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Melissa E. Holsman is a legal reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and author and co-host of “Uncertain terms“, a true crime podcast. Reach them at [email protected]. If you are a subscriber, thank you. Unless, Become a subscriber to get the latest local news across the Treasure Coast.

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