- 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.
After the crash, the driver of the pickup truck took off. Nathan Michael Portillo, 25, wasn't arrested until Oct. 7 and was charged in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony, or in the alternative automobile homicide, a second-degree felony; four counts of obstruction of justice and leaving the scene of an accident involving death, third-degree felonies; reckless driving and making a threat of violence, class B misdemeanors; driving on a revoked license, a class C misdemeanor; and speeding and making an unsafe lane change, infractions.
While Murray police were looking for Portillo, detectives contacted his father. Francisco Portillo claimed "that they do not have a good relationship and he does not know where (his son) lives or what he drives," according to charging documents filed Tuesday.
Francisco Portillo then gave police a phone number for his son, but later called back to say he had given them an incorrect number and provided the correct number. Investigators later discovered that the father "had called his son immediately after speaking to (the officer) and before calling back to correct the phone number he gave," the charges state.
On Aug. 28, Francisco Portillo told police that the pickup involved in the fatal crash had been repossessed. He also claimed that his son "used his information to buy the vehicle without his permission, and he didn't know about the vehicle until he received a notice of default," according to the charges.
When investigators spoke to employees at the auto dealership, however, they were told that even though Francisco Portillo was not with his son when he purchased the vehicle, "they spoke to him over the phone several times and (Francisco Portillo) sent his son the required documents, including his pay stubs and a photo of his driver's license," the charges state. The father also went to the dealership before his son purchased the vehicle and test-drove it with him.
Portillo's next court hearing is scheduled for May 21.
