12 On Your Side Investigates: Deputies warned of cop killer before shooting

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A protective order and an alert to law enforcement shed light on the state of mind of the man who opened fire on Columbia County deputies over the weekend, killing one and seriously injuring another.

And the documents show authorities were well aware of the danger posed by James Blake Montgomery.

Deputies stopped him in an RV Saturday evening on Interstate 20 to serve a temporary protective order that included a mandate to turn over all his guns. His estranged wife said she feared for her life.

Authorities knew he was suspected of building pipe bombs and converting guns to full automatic operation – and they also knew he was mentally unstable.

“James Blake Montgomery is reported to be manufacturing pipe bombs, and selling steroids and suppressors via mail,” officers were told in an email sent out the day before the fatal shooting.

“According to a source, Montgomery is always armed with an automatic AR-15 and handguns. Sources have indicated Montgomery has made threats to law enforcement. Montgomery is a diagnosed bipolar, paranoid schizophrenic, and has been off of his medications for some time,” the email continued.

It concluded with a warning: “Law enforcement personnel are advised to not approach Montgomery alone.”

When deputies stopped him around 6:24 p.m. Saturday on I-20 near Belair Road, he seemed compliant when they deputies served the order.

It wasn’t until they turned to walk away that he opened fire with one of his altered guns.

Deputy Brandon Sikes was killed and Deputy Gavin White was injured when he was shot in the face. Two other deputies fired back, and Montgomery was later found in the RV.

As the emailed memo warned, the RV was full of pipe bombs, explosives paraphernalia, ammunition and suspicious items.

Montgomery’s estranged wife filed for an order to protect herself from her husband on April 15.

Through divorce filings and petitions for the protective order, we’ve pieced together a timeline of red flags about Montgomery.

It took nine days for a judge to sign off on the protective order.

Court records show that in those nine days, Montgomery’s behavior escalated to the point that she went back to the clerk’s office to get help.

She’d filed for divorce Dec. 31, but deputies never did find him to serve him with the paperwork.

In March, a judge threatened to dismiss the divorce complaint because of missing paperwork.

A week before the April 21 deadline, she filed for the protective order.

“He has threatened that if the police ever show up on our doorstep, what makes me think I would still be around, what makes me think he would allow me to stay on this Earth,” she stated.

A week later, she added that he may burn her home and said he stated “she would be on the news and that the entire country would hear this story.”

LEARN MORE

The investigation: Who’s handling it?

1. The Regional Force Investigation Team ins handling the case, and it includes Columbia, Burke and Richmond counties.
2. The team consists of highly experienced investigators from all three agencies. All who are involved have gone through specialized training and submit t task force reports
3. This same unit was used in the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office officer-involved shooting last month
4. This was started years ago in the CSRA by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office

She also wrote that he messaged a family member that she was trying to have “a death do us part” divorce and that he had nothing left to live for and nothing stopping him from becoming the “animal he had been trying to suppress.”

She warned: “He owns firearms and previously threatened to use them. James also sent a screenshot to his mother showing he was tracking my location.”

She ended with: “James has sent threatening and harassing messages after being asked numerous times to stop ing or threatening me. This has occurred continuously over the past five months following my filing for divorce.”

Two days later on Thursday, a judge signed the order.

Then two days after that, deputies spotted his RV and tried to serve him in what turned into a deadly encounter.

As far as the alert to officers the day before the encounter, a law enforcement source tells News 12 they often get inundated with similar alerts.

These are frequently coming down the pipeline, which are sent out to personnel to read and be aware of.

The volume of these alerts is based on agency and location. Some agencies will get more than others. There are also statewide alerts that go to all agencies in the state, and national alerts that go to everyone.

Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.