Gary cop charged for shooting into the air after fight

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Updated: March 23, 2012 8:18AM

GARY — Already facing termination for crashing his squad car after smoking marijuana and drinking, Patrolman Laron Leslie now has a felony charge against him for a weekend incident involving gunfire.

Leslie, 27, hired on the force in July 2009, was charged with intimidation Tuesday. He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted of the charge. Police arrested Leslie at his apartment Tuesday evening. He was being processed and taken to Lake County Jail that evening.

A Gary firefighter told Detective Sgt. Mark Salazar that Leslie fired several shots into the air after the two men argued over a woman early Saturday outside a Lakeshore Dunes apartment where the woman lives, the probable cause affidavit states.

The woman said she was seeing both men, but the firefighter had been giving her money. The firefighter arrived at her apartment building and found Leslie leaving. The two “squared off” and swung at each other, but missed, the affidavit states.

Leslie admitted he threatened the firefighter and “fired three or four shots into the air” while running in the complex parking lot. He returned home and reloaded his weapon, but didn’t call police, court records state.

“He said that during his police academy training he was trained not to fire warning shots,” the affidavit states.

Leslie has been restricted to desk duty since he crashed his marked squad car while off duty. He admitted he had been drinking and smoking pot before the crash.

It is not clear if Leslie was charged with any traffic violations in connection with the crash. He was charged with violating police commission rules, but a termination hearing set for November was postponed and has not been rescheduled.

Chief Wade Ingram said he intends to suspend Leslie with pay and refer the matter to the police commission for dismissal.

State law prohibits a police officer from being suspended without pay for more than five days without a hearing.

Reach reporter Lori Caldwell at 648-3258.