UPDATE: Details of Riverside PD officer-involved shooting released
UPDATED: Tuesday, Feb. 23, 11:34 p.m., With additional details from Riverside Police Department.
Originally Published: Monday, Feb. 22, 11:07 a.m.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A felon who was later found to have two illegally possessed firearms in his possession and was already on parole for assault with a deadly weapon when he led officers on a short pursuit sustained a minor grazing gunshot wound when he was shot by officers after he crashed into another vehicle in Riverside Sunday evening, Feb. 21.
A 60-year-old woman whose vehicle the parolee crashed into suffered a broken clavicle and ribs and was hospitalized after the crash, which happened at the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Kansas Avenue.
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Sunday’s incident began around 6 p.m. when two City of Riverside police officers were patrolling the area of Sedgewick Avenue near Martin Luther King Boulevard in the Eastside neighborhood of Riverside and attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a black GMC Denali, Riverside PD has since said of the pursuit and shooting.
The driver of the Denali, later identified as Leopold Acuna Leon Jr., 27, of Riverside, refused to yield to the officers’ lights and sirens and accelerated away from officials in an attempt to evade them.
Leopold Leon Jr. was grazed by officers’ gunfire after he backed into and rammed a patrol vehicle at the end of a short pursuit in Riverside on Sunday. A 60-year-old woman the parolee crashed into suffered a broken clavicle and ribs and was hospitalized in stable condition. RPD photo
Officers initiated a pursuit, which headed eastbound on Martin Luther King Boulevard, with Leon driving on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic, according to RPD; who said that as Leon’s Denali came to the intersection at Kansas Avenue, he rammed into a black Ford Explorer.
“When the officers caught up to the collision and stopped behind the suspect vehicle, the driver reversed the Denali and rammed their police vehicle,” RPD explained; adding, “An officer-involved shooting then occurred.”
After the collision and shooting Leon was immediately apprehended without further incident.
“He was grazed by gunfire and … transported to a local hospital with minor non-life-threatening wounds,” said RPD.
The woman injured in the collision was also transported to an area hospital in stable condition.
During a subsequent search of Leon’s Denali officers discovered two loaded firearms, according to RPD. As a convicted felon on parole Leon is prohibited from owning or possessing any firearms.
Although officials did not specify how many rounds officers discharged, footage filmed at the scene by LoudLabs News indicated dozens of rounds may have been fired at Leopold Leon Jr., who was grazed by officers’ gunfire. LoudLabs News photos
Investigators with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation responded to the scene and assumed the investigation. They were assisted by detectives with the Riverside Police Department’s Robbery – Homicide Unit, along with Specialists from the Department’s Forensics Unit.
After he was medically cleared from the hospital, Leon was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon against a peace officer, being a felon in possession of firearms, evading police causing injuries, hit and run causing injuries, and violation of parole.
Online jail records indicate Leon remains in custody, where he is being held without bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned at the Riverside Hall of Justice tomorrow, Feb. 4.
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This officer-involved shooting investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with additional information about this investigation is urged to contact Senior District Attorney Investigator Nick Franco at (951) 955-5506 or by email, or Detective Dan Mercadefe at (951) 353-7103 or by email. Callers can refer to incident file number 210005347 and can remain anonymous.
Those wishing to remain anonymous can also email [email protected] or use the Riverside Police Department’s mobile app “Submit a Tip” feature.
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Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.
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