A man accused of killing three people at a party near Auburn University turned himself in after a three-day manhunt that included a tense search of a Montgomery home by police tactical units. Click below to read the rest of the story.
Attorney Susan James said that her office arranged for Desmonte Leonard to turn himself in at a Montgomery courthouse around 7:50 p.m. after getting word that his family wanted her help.
She said she contacted U.S. Marshals and then she and her son, who works for her as an investigator, picked up Leonard. She wouldn’t say where except that it was about 50 miles from Montgomery. They then drove him to meet investigators.
“He was very calm, very tired and very ready to get this over with and very respectful,” she said.
She said they had time to talk while driving to Montgomery: “When the full story is told, it may sound different than the perception now.”
James said she has not been retained to represent him.
Leonard, 22, is charged with three counts of capital murder in a shooting Saturday night after a fight over a woman. He is accused of wounding three others. The dead included two former Auburn football players, and a current player was among the injured.
“I’ve got a team of 120-some-odd players right now that are really just trying to navigate what is a lot of questions that aren’t answered,” Auburn football coach Gene Chizik said. “We’re trying to do that as a coaching staff and I think the entire Auburn community is trying to do the same thing.”
Two men already have been charged with misleading authorities during their search for Leonard, and Police Chief Kevin Murphy said the man who ferried Leonard to the home could be arrested on similar charges.
Police surrounded a house in Montgomery Monday afternoon thinking Leonard was inside after they received two solid tips. They swarmed a home with tear gas, spy gear and assault rifles, but after a tense, nine-hour search, they discovered Leonard had fled by the time they arrived. At one point, they believed they heard movement and coughing in the attic, but their search that lasted until early Tuesday turned up nothing.
Believing Leonard was hiding in the attic, officers fired tear gas into the rafters and poked through insulation. Investigators said thermal imaging and other technology showed a person was in the attic area and they had heard coughing and movement.
