Ex-Con Convicted Of Shooting Santa Monica Police Officer

SANTA MONICA, CA – An ex-con was found guilty Thursday of seriously wounding a Santa Monica police officer and trying to kill two other officers during a traffic stop nearly eight years ago.

Jurors deliberated about two hours before convicting Dante Glenn Leverette, 40, of Los Angeles, of three counts each of attempted murder of a peace officer and assault with a semiautomatic firearm on a police officer and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

The 11-man, one-woman jury also found true allegations that the attempted murders were willful, deliberate and premeditated, that Leverette had personally and intentionally discharged a handgun causing great bodily injury, and that he was free on bail or his own recognizance in a pending case at the time of the crime.

Leverette opened fire just after 1:30 a.m. May 18, 2010, in the 1900 block of Lincoln Boulevard after police stopped a vehicle in which he was a passenger, according to Deputy District Attorney Geoff Lewin.

Three officers at the scene, including one who was struck in the groin area, returned fire, and Leverette fled from the scene, the prosecutor said.

Leverette was nabbed nearby about 3 1/2 hours later after trying to flee from a Gardena police dog – one of nine police K9s that were called in to help with the search – and being fired upon again by police, Lewin said.

Defense attorney Edmont Barrett countered that the officer may have been shot in an incident of friendly fire.

"What we have here is we have a police officer who it appears was shot by one of his own men," Barrett told jurors during his closing argument.

The prosecutor disputed the defense's allegations, questioning what motive officers from the Santa Monica Police Department and neighboring agencies who were called in to aid in the search would have to wrongly pin the crime on Leverette.

Leverette – who had represented himself for about four years before his trial – told Superior Court Judge Eleanor J. Hunter that he wanted to act as his own attorney again after the verdict.

The judge cautioned him against representing himself, noting that Leverette is facing a minimum of 120 years to life on the attempted murder counts and accompanying gun allegations on those charges and possible additional time on the other charges on which he was convicted.

Just before the jury's verdict was read, Leverette admitted outside the jury's presence that he had two prior convictions – one for obstructing or resisting an officer and one for a drug offense – that will add two years to his sentence.

Leverette is due back at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse May 22, when a date is scheduled to be set for his sentencing.

City News Service; Image via Shutterstock