A veteran New York City Police Department detective formerly assigned to the elite security team of mayor Bloomberg has been convicted of attempted murder in connection with an off-duty shooting in which an unarmed man was wounded.
“This is truly a sad day for everyone when a police officer is convicted of breaking the very laws he had sworn to uphold,” said Queens DA Richard Brown. “But in the pursuit of justice, nobody is above the law. The defendant must now bear responsibility for his actions.”
Leopold McLean, 48, has been a member of the NYPD for nineteen years, was convicted today of second-degree attempted murder and first-and second-degree reckless endangerment following a jury trial.
Queens Supreme Court Justice James P. Griffin, revoked McLean’s bail and ordered him remanded into custody.
According to trial testimony, McLean approached Lepaul Gammons in the vicinity of 119th Road and 153rd Street in Jamaica at approximately 12:34 a.m. on November 15, 2010, and demanded to know why Gammons was at the location. It was the residence of a woman known to both men, a woman who was alleged to be in a relationship with McLean and who had a restraining order against Gammons for stalking.
McLean pointed a black handgun at Gammons, who asked if McLean was going to shoot him. McLean then stated that he had something for Gammons and lowered the black handgun and reached down toward his ankle, at which point Gammons ran from the location, which was captured on video surveillance. As he ran, he heard gunshots comin from where McLean had been standing. As he ran down 119th Road toward Sutphin Boulevard, Gammons sustained a gunshot that entered and exited his buttocks. He climbed a fence of a neighboring yard and hid briefly. As he ran back to his car, McLean fired more shots. The incident ended when Gammons managed to drive off in his car.
Ballistic tests on a bullet recovered from a fence post located on the north side of 119-26 153rd Street determined that the bullet came from the Kahr 9mm Luger registered to McLean.
Gammons, who suffered substantial pain, impaired mobility and a high fever as a result of the gunshot wound, was subsequently taken to Jamaica Hospital for treatment.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 13, 2013, at which time McLean faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 25 years in prison.
