PUEBLO, Colo.—A search team has retrieved a handgun from Fountain Creek that investigators believe belonged to a suspect who was shot and killed by a Pueblo police officer.
The handgun was unearthed Thursday almost directly below the spot on the East Fourth Street bridge where 54-year-old David Leroy Wiggs of Florence was killed the day before, authorities said.
Heavy equipment was used to divert the flow of the creek, which was running at a low level, so a search team could scour the riverbed with a metal detector.
“I’m very, very happy we recovered the weapon,” Pueblo Police Chief Jim Billings said. “We have an independent witness who saw the gun fall into the river. Finding the weapon corroborates that.”
Sgt. Eric Bravo said the gun’s serial number had been defaced but police are working to trace the weapon through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Detective Gerald LeRay Jr., 39, fatally shot Wiggs, who was wanted on suspicion of sexual assault and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
“Officers gave Wiggs verbal commands to show his hands,” a police press release said. “Wiggs refused to comply and as he turned away (from) the officers, he reached into his jacket and pulled out what Detective LeRay believed to be a black-colored handgun and pointed it back at the officers.”
LeRay fired three rounds from a .40-caliber handgun, Bravo said.
Authorities began hunting for Wiggs after family members told police he had threatened to commit suicide and had said he was willing to fight officers.
An autopsy is planned.
LeRay and a school resource officer who witnessed the shooting, Kimberly Polk, have been placed on routine administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.
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Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain,
