Men Accused Of Killing Teen On Gilcrease Expressway To Stand Trial

A judge ordered three men accused of killing a 14-year-old girl as she and her family drove down the Gilcrease Expressway to stand trial.

Thursday, September 4th 2014, 2:26 pm

By: News On 6


A judge ordered two men accused of killing a 14-year-old girl as she and her family drove down the Gilcrease Expressway to stand trial, while the third waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

David Ruble, Travis Lozada and Demonte Rushing all face charges surrounding the shooting death of April Montano. Ruble and Lozada face robbery, murder and conspiracy charges, while Rushing is looking at charges of murder and robbery.

While Rushing is accused, he also took the stand Thursday to testify against the other two defendants. Rushing said he was driving the car but didn't want to have anything to do with the crime.

5/31/2014 Related Story: Two Men Jailed In Gilcrease Expressway Murder Of 14-Year-Old Tulsa Girl

Rushing took the stand and claimed he was driving and that his girlfriend was in the car at the time of the shooting but had nothing to do with the crime.

Rushing testified that Lozada was the one who saw the family's truck hauling the ATVs and decided to steal them.

He also claimed that Ruble was "just going along with it," even though he claimed Ruble was the one who fired at the truck, killing the 14 year old.

He said he never even saw the gun until Lozada and Ruble pulled it out as they followed the family from North Peoria onto the Gilcrease Expressway.

Rushing's testimony got a big reaction from those sitting in the courtroom, as family and friends of all three men were there; some stormed out during his testimony.

Rushing's girlfriend also testified and said that when Lozada saw the truck with the ATVs he said it was going to be the "robbery of the year."

During the hearing Montano's stepfather also testified, as well as the Tulsa Police officer who initially pulled the car over after the shooting.

Montano's stepfather testified Thursday morning. He said while the family was driving down the expressway at 9:30 p.m. on May 29, 2014, when he heard a sound and his son started screaming that something happened. When he looked back he saw blood and pulled over.

April Montano was shot in the head. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 3 a.m. the next morning.

We spoke with the stepfather after the hearing and he said he was too distraught to talk about it.

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