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Wednesday, July 11, 2012
A Lee County judge ruled Wednesday there was enough evidence to send the case of the Montgomery man accused of killing three during the University Heights shooting to a grand jury.
Lee County District Court Judge Russell K. Bush heard two hours of testimony from an Auburn police investigator and a friend of shooting suspect Desmonte Leonard before sending the case to a grand jury.
The officer testified Leonard was identified as the alleged gunman by a witness, who said the defendant began wildly shooting after he was stuck with a beer bottle during a fight at a party in the complex on June 9. Leonard was allegedly struck by DeMario Pitts, one of three men killed during the shooting.
The woman who invited Leonard to the party testified she did not see him fire and did not believe he had a gun on him that evening. Both witnesses said the shooting was the result of a verbal altercation that began between Leonard and Auburn University football player DeAngelo Benton but was later escalated by their friends.
Leonard is charged with three counts of capital murder and two counts of second-degree assault for his alleged role in the June 9 shooting at the apartment complex that left three dead and three injured. Leonard surrendered to U.S. Marshals in Montgomery on June 12 after a three-day manhunt. He is being held in Montgomery County jail at the request of his attorneys.
Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson said the grand jury would decide whether Leonard will also be charged with attempted murder related to the injury of a man at the party. Police had prepared a warrant for the charge but did not serve it before Wednesday’s hearing.
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Keywords: Auburn, University Heights, grand jury, Desmonte Leonard, killing, shooting,
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