UPDATED: Bicyclist Killed After Being Run Over Identified
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A suspect is in custody after an exchange led to a violent altercation in the Arden Arcade area Thursday morning, leaving one man dead.
Police arrested 60-year-old Joseph Leonard for attempted murder after he allegedly ran over a 34-year-old Toussaint Harrison with his pickup truck just before 7 a.m.
Those charges were upgraded to murder following the Harrison's death Saturday afternoon.
Sheriff's deputies responded to a parking lot at Howe Avenue and Arden Way to reports of a fight between Leonard and two other men at a McDonald's. Deputies say Leonard chased down Harrison, who was riding away on a bicycle, and ran him over in a parking lot.
Witnesses say Leonard then got out of his truck and began kicking the motionless 34-year-old man in the head as he lay on the ground.
That's when an employee of a nearby business stepped in and told Leonard to stay put until deputies arrived.
"I grabbed a big ol' 4-foot pry bar and threatened him with that," the employee told CBS13. "I reached in and grabbed the keys out of the ignition and then demanded him to sit down. Told him he wasn't going anywhere."
And Leonard didn't.
Meanwhile, James Hurst, a longtime friend of Leonard says the suspect is a former Navy SEAL and is supposed to be taking medication regularly for post-traumatic stress disorder.
"I've been talking to him about that lately, for him to keep up with his meds," Hurst said. "He acts like he is, but I know he's not."
Leonard is being held without bail and faces a murder charge. He'll be back in court on Monday.
Detectives are looking for the man Harrison was with at the time of the incident. He is not wanted for any wrongdoing. Investigators hope he can shed light on the circumstances surrounding the incident that led to Leonard allegedly running over Harrison.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department's homicide bureau at (916) 874-5115.
