Murder Trial Set For Factory Supervisor In Worker's Death
YPSILANTI (WWJ/AP) - A Washtenaw County judge has scheduled a start date for the murder trial of a factory supervisor accused of shooting another employee after a workplace dispute.
Judge Darlene O'Brien is to preside at the trial of 34-year-old Leonard Ware of Ypsilanti Township, set to begin on Sept. 9.
Ware is charged with an open count of murder, which would let jurors consider both first- and second-degree murder.
Ypsilanti police say Ware shot 29-year-old Bhagavan Yashura Allen, of Superior Township, with a .45-caliber handgun on Oct. 3, 2012, near the Marsh Plating Corp. factory. Police say the dispute arose from a job performance issue.
According to police, Ware ran the assembly line and may have questioned Allen's work ethic. The two apparently began to argue at the plant and then decided to settle the dispute nearby when the work day was over.
"I don't think he knew he had a gun," Ypsilanti police Sgt. Thomas Eberts earlier told AnnArbor.com. "The shooting happened immediately."
Eberts said Ware fire two shots at Allen, which knocked him to the ground. Ware then reportedly stood over Allen's fallen body and shot three or four more rounds at him, police said.
Ware immediately fled the scene after the shooting. Allen died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
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