What happened Jeff Becerra? Revisiting 1989 incident that left possessed band member paralyzed amid Brian Montana’s death 

The killing of Possessed guitarist Brian Montana in a police shootout last week has brought attention to the band’s controversial history, specifically, the life-changing event involving Jeff Becerra. Becerra had been paralyzed from the chest down for years, due to a failed armed robbery that escalated into violence.

Founded in the early '80s in the San Francisco Bay Area, Possessed made their groundbreaking debut with their 1985 album Seven Churches. Apart from their musical success, the band has faced severe adversities.

In 1989, only two years after a brief break-up of the Possessed due to internal tensions, Jeff Becerra was paralyzed following a violent robbery.

According to an interview with The Underground Metal Gamer, Jeff Becerra had just finished a long 13-hour workday for a concrete construction company and decided to make a stop at a convenience store to purchase cigarettes.

While purchasing, he supposedly flashed a $100 bill, which caught the attention of a pair of armed men. The men waiting for him ambushed him as he left the store. In a 2019 interview, he described the scenario where he struggled against the men, even though he knew resisting would be futile. There was a scuffle, and he was shot twice by two different firearms. Jeff Becerra remarked,

"I kind of resisted; I should have just given them the money, but I was f***ed, I was cornered. It's not the first time I had a gun pointed at me and I knew they meant business."

According to his statement, a single bullet, from a 9mm handgun, tore through his chest, crushing his ribs and lungs, lodging in his spine below his heart and paralyzing him for life. A second shot nicked his finger. Becerra had barely escaped with his life, lying motionless for close to 45 minutes after the incident.

More about Jeff Becerra’s life after being paralyzed and the recent death of Brian Montana

According to Jeff Becerra, he was emotionally and physically destroyed in the aftermath. It had been the darkest five years of his life, he said. In an interview with The Underground Metal Gamer, he elaborated,

"I really didn't handle it well... I essentially tried to kill myself with drugs and alcohol. I lived alone for five years and basically just wrote and listened to a lot of demo tapes."

But eventually, he found the strength to put his life back together. He went to college, graduated with honors, got married and eventually revived his music career. In 2007, Jeff Becerra reformed Possessed with a new lineup, and went back on tour where he played in a wheelchair.

The band released a new album, Revelations of Oblivion, in 2019. This was the group’s first album since the late 80s. By that same year, he’d reached another milestone by walking for the first time in more than three decades, with the help of robotic exoskeleton technology.

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The recent, tragic demise of Brian Montana has once again brought the spotlight to the band. Montana, a former guitarist for the band, was fatally shot by police who reported that he fired multiple weapons at officers during a standoff in South San Francisco.

According to authorities, Montana, upset over a neighborhood argument, had a shootout with the police that lasted nearly half an hour. He was declared dead at the scene.

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