PUEBLO, Colo.—A police detective who fatally shot a sexual assault suspect who allegedly pointed a gun at him won’t face charges, prosecutors said.
A report released Friday by the district attorney’s office said Gerald LeRay feared for his life and was justified in using deadly physical force when he shot David LeRoy Wiggs, 54, on March 11.
Wiggs had been wanted in Fremont County on two warrants for sexual assaults on two 15-year-old girls and two for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Wiggs previously served five years in a Texas prison for possessing cocaine. Thiebaut’s report said Wiggs had told his sister, Rebecca Swift, that the sexual assault allegations were false. “He was not going to go back to prison for something he didn’t do,” the report said.
LeRay spotted Wiggs on a bridge March 11 and tried to talk to him, but Wiggs walked away, District Attorney Bill Thiebaut wrote in the report. Wiggs wasn’t facing the detective when LeRay saw Wiggs pull a handgun from his sweatshirt with his left hand and point it at LeRay from under his right arm, the report said.
LeRay shot Wiggs in the neck from 25 to 40 feet away. Wiggs’ gun fell into Fountain Creek, the report said, and a cocked and loaded Winchester 9 mm Luger was later found in the creek below the bridge.
School resource officer Kimberly Polk was at the scene with LeRay and corroborated much of the details, the report said.
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Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain,
