Bail denied for Reno man suspected in child's abandonment in Utah

RENO -- A judge has rejected bail for a Reno man suspected in his wife's disappearance and his stepson's abandonment in Utah.

At a closed hearing Friday, Justice of the Peace Harold Albright agreed with prosecutors that Lyle Montgomery poses a flight risk and threat to the public.

A police search of Montgomery's home, car and storage shed turned up a stockpile of guns, knives and ammunition, according to new court documents. The search also found blood stains in the home.

Montgomery, 42, a pharmacy manager at a Kmart in Reno, was involuntarily committed to a Reno psychiatric hospital on Jan. 30, a day after police found him lying on the floor of his home in an apparent suicide attempt.

His 28-year-old wife, Jeanette Acord, was last heard from Jan. 21. Police suspect she is dead but fear her body won't be found unless someone stumbles across her grave.

Montgomery has not been charged in his wife's disappearance, but has been identified as a suspect in the case.

Montgomery also faces child abuse charges in Utah, where he's accused of abandoning Acord's 3-year-old son Jan. 25 at a ShopKo in Salt Lake City. Acord also has gone by the names Corpuz, Snyder and Montgomery.

Montgomery's bail initially was set at $34,000.

Dan Greco, chief deputy district attorney for Washoe County, said he presented "a large amount of evidence" to support his argument that Montgomery should remain in custody.

Included in his argument to the judge, Greco said, was evidence related to other "possible charges."

He declined to say whether Montgomery will be charged in connection with his wife's disappearance.

"The investigation is still in its early stages," Greco told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Montgomery's lawyer, Marc Picker, declined comment.

Among weapons found during the police search of Montgomery's property were several Glock pistols, two rifles and more than a dozen knives.

Also found was the book "Poor Man's James Bond," which describes how to use household materials to make flame-throwers, explosives and other weapons.

Montgomery had been scheduled to appear in court Jan. 30 on charges stemming from an October arrest for allegedly threatening Acord, but that hearing was postponed.