'Renewed Hope For Justice': Arrest Made In Valentine's Day Murder Of Rubidoux Man, Jurupa Valley Church Elder Grant Leggette
RIVERSIDE (CBSLA) — A man who was in custody for robbery and weapons charges has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a Rubidoux man and Jurupa Valley church elder on Valentine's Day of last year.
Richard Kevin Baldwin III, 29, of Moreno Valley, faces new charges of murder and lying in wait in the Feb. 14, 2020 shooting death of 57-year-old Grant Leggette Sr. Leggette died at a hospital after being shot several times in the parking lot of a Marriott Hotel in Riverside, where he had been attending a Valentine's Day event.
Investigators say Leggette was walking to his parked car when he was shot. Leggette had been described as a family man and an elder at the Life Church of God in Christ in Jurupa Valley.
The effort to find Leggette's murderer ramped up earlier this year, when the Riverside City Council voted to increase a reward for information in the killing to $30,000. Baldwin was ultimately identified as the suspect in Leggette's murder and was found to be in custody in Los Angeles County jail on unrelated robbery and weapons charges, according to Riverside police officials.
Betty Leggette, Grant Leggette's wife, said she was grateful for the hard work of investigators, and that she has a "renewed hope for justice" for her husband.
"I want to thank God for the strength, peace and joy this day has given me. I also want to thank the Riverside Police Department and everyone who worked so hard to resolve this case resulting in the arrest of the man who murdered my husband," she said in a statement.