Mark Leonard’s murder was not caused by attempted robbery. When victims are shot multiple times -- 10 in this case -- that reflects a revenge hit. Investigators are retracing the curious events in the hours leading up to the shooting.
Mark Leonard was paid a visit that morning by someone authorities identified and described as a local gang member with a criminal history for interstate drug transportation, seeking his advice about a recent botched deal with another gang. The two knew each other, although Jacquelyne Leonard said her husband was not in that business.
“Mark had changed his life totally when I married him because I couldn’t live like that,” she said. “My mom was a retired judge and my dad was a cop. Mark made an honest living. He built this car wash from the ground up in 2006 and took pride in it. He paved the lot with his bare hands. Put in wide-screen TVs and installed flood lights so we could wash cars at night. Business was booming. We were black owned. The community came out and supported us. It was a beautiful thing. The customers all knew and liked him because although he was big and intimidating and you couldn’t come to him with no BS, he was a nice guy.”
McCarthy said: “Mark would’ve never been in this situation if this guy, who was an associate, hadn’t crossed him and used his name.”
Hours after that meeting, three other men arrived and spoke to Leonard outside the building. There was a heated discussion that involved shouting, loud enough to bring his wife from the office.
“When I came out and turned the corner, Mark had pushed this (Latino) guy,” she said. “Come to find out he was in a gang, and you can’t do that. That was a deal breaker from my understanding. Mark went to hit him. I said, 'Mark don’t do that.' He didn’t hit him and they jumped into the car and left.”