In the quiet community of Norcross, Georgia, the life of 19-year-old Osiel Montano was tragically cut short in December of 2019. The young Hispanic male's body was discovered on December 30, 2019, inside an abandoned apartment at the Spring Lake Apartment complex on Chase Common Drive. An investigation into his death determined that he had died from a single gunshot wound to the head, a grim discovery that prompted the Norcross Police Department to request the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
For over a year, the case remained under intensive investigation. A significant breakthrough came in March 2021 when authorities identified a suspect already in the custody of law enforcement. Leslie Garcia-Juarez, a 16-year-old female from Norcross, was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in connection with Montano's death. At the time the charges were brought against her, Garcia-Juarez was being held at the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Regional Youth Detention Center in Gainesville for a separate and unrelated murder that occurred in December 2020.
Investigators concluded that Garcia-Juarez had shot and killed Montano before fleeing the scene. Her arrest was the culmination of a lengthy and collaborative effort involving the Norcross Police Department, the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office, the Gwinnett County Police Department, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Gwinnett County Juvenile Court Probation Unit. The charges against Garcia-Juarez in Montano's murder added another layer to an already serious legal situation she faced, as she was also accused of the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Adaph Aimable in Duluth a year after Montano's death. In both cases, despite her age, she was charged as an adult.
