Month: October 2025

By Ford Hatchett

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    PHOENIX (KNXV) — A former Arizona Cardinals player is seeking $1 million in damages from the Cities of Phoenix and Mesa after police admitted he was not the suspect they were looking for when he was handcuffed and detained at Sky Harbor Airport in April during a homicide investigation. That, according to two notices of claim filed this week by attorney Benjamin Taylor of Taylor & Gomez.

Wesley Leasy, 53, was picking up his daughter at the airport on a Tuesday evening when police officers confronted them at gunpoint, forced them to lie on the ground, and handcuffed them. Leasy played linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals from 1995 to 1996. He runs a Scottsdale construction company and ran for state legislature in 2022.

In April, a Mesa Police Department spokesperson said there had been a shooting minutes earlier near Country Club Drive and Brown Road. At the city’s Real Time Crime Center, traffic camera video near the scene showed a car that witnesses described as a white Mercedes with four doors, a sunroof, and a temporary, paper license plate.

A police helicopter followed the suspect vehicle westbound on the Loop 202 but lost sight of it near the airport. Four minutes later, Leasy’s white Mercedes, which matched the description of the suspect’s car, was spotted. Police at the scene told Leasy they followed him while he circled the airport awaiting his daughter.

Leasy and his daughter were detained for less than five minutes before officers removed the handcuffs after officers at the homicide scene told them witnesses described the suspect as a white man. Police said they later arrested a suspect in the case who fit that description. The notice of claim includes a photo of the actual suspect. A Mesa police sergeant at the airport apologized to Leasy as he explained how the mix-up occurred.

“It doesn’t make any sense why so much force was used here,” Taylor said. “Here’s a picture of the body camera, he’s face down, officers there, guns blazing, it doesn’t make any sense.”

During the five minutes he was handcuffed, body camera video shows Leasy maintaining a composed demeanor, even trying to calm his daughter. Leasy said his calm behavior was an act of self-preservation for both himself and his daughter.

“If I make a wrong move, that it’s over, I’m thinking we are both dead like that,” Leasy said. “If I look the wrong way, if I make the wrong sound, if I move my finger, if they think I’m threatening, it’s over.”

On Tuesday, Mesa Police told ABC15 they are unable to discuss pending litigation.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KNXV’s editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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By Luz Pena

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A new billboard in San Francisco is causing uproar after it categorized one city neighborhood as “Gotham” — the city in Batman that is on the brink of destruction with crime.

The billboard appeared overnight and, instead of sending people to the email advertised below, it’s making San Francisco residents question the true intention behind a tech company’s message.

“Work in Pacific Heights not in Gotham? Do they want to equate South of Market with Gotham?” asked San Francisco resident Kate Goldberg.

Gotham is the fictional home of Batman a city filled with crime. The company Prompt Armor is pointing to SoMa, or South of Market, as the Gotham they are referencing.

“I think it’s stupid. I think it’s multi-layer for nothing and asks a question that cannot be answered. Cities are complex,” said Goldberg.

San Francisco supervisor Matt Dorsey represents SoMa and wants the billboard removed. ABC7 News has contacted Prompt Armor and have not heard back.

“Don’t insult San Francisco neighborhoods when you are a San Francisco-based company. It’s just bad form,” said San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey.

SoMa does have its challenges. The ABC7 News data team found that in the last 12 months, there have been 216 robberies, 327 aggravated assaults and 406 vehicle thefts, but all these numbers are still low compared to the three-year average.

One of the biggest issues in SoMa is drugs. Supervisor Dorsey is in recovery himself and has made this his top priority.

“The reality is that the numbers right now are overwhelming, even our ability to respond. Even with 35,000 city employees, we don’t have a police force big enough to do it. But in my view, we should be doing more to make sure that we are ticketing people, confiscating their drugs, taking away their drug paraphernalia and, in circumstances where it’s warranted, making arrests and getting people into custody for public drug use,” said Supervisor Dorsey.

Despite the challenges, SoMa has become a hot area for AI companies.

“Whatever you might say about SoMa, understand that this is, right now, the engine of economic growth in San Francisco. I’m proud to represent it. Is it an urban area that has challenges, more than say the residential area of Pacific Heights? Yes, that is part of what a city is,” said Supervisor Dorsey.

Real estate agents are having to balance explaining the reality of the area with the opportunity in real estate in the heart of the city.

“That negative outlook potentially scares prospective tenants away from leasing and hence that’s why the rental rates in West SoMa, Civic Center, Market Street have dropped so drastically. Because of that narrative or are they all congregate. So, rental rates are dramatically picking up over the past six months, which has been a good sign,” said Cody Kollmann, founder of Kollmann Real Estate.

Many in the area are hoping the city pours more resources into SoMa so it continues to grow into the tech engine of the city instead of the reason for mockery.

“A lot of cool infrastructure-type of buildings. I think a lot of these AI companies gravitate towards that part of town. So that’s been good, too,” said Kollmann, who added, “There has been a total revitalization. So much in just in terms of seeing new companies come in the neighborhood.”

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By Lauren Martinez

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    FREMONT, California (KGO) — Surveillance video captured thieves using some kind of power tool to try to break into a safe inside a Hindu temple in Fremont.

Members of SVCC Temple in Fremont say around 2:15 Tuesday morning, three people broke into their place of worship.

On Tuesday afternoon, priest and manager Skanda Kumar showed us around and pointed out the cash offerings made to deities that were stolen.

“This is what they took – about seven of them,” Kumar said.

Kumar estimates $2,000 was taken but it could be more.

He showed us the surveillance video. The suspects attempt to get into the metal safe using a drill or saw with sparks flying on and off for more than three minutes.

“I felt really sad and I was afraid it would get on fire, but it did not,” Kumar said.

We spoke with Prisad Ramakrishnan who volunteers with the temple.

“You feel violated, you feel like your personal space and this is not our personal space – this is a space for the deities and for the devotees,” Ramakrishnan said.

On a typical Tuesday night, he said around 200 devotees come to the temple.

“Whether it’s a temple or a church, it’s a place of worship and we want to make sure people who come here feel safe,” Ramakrishnan said.

He explained the money that was stolen is directly from community members who donate for offerings but also religious proceedings.

“Every week, we have hundreds of meters of garlands that are made,” Ramakrishnan said.

The temple purchases fresh flowers, fruits and other decorative items. Members said this is not the first time SVCC Temple has been burglarized, but it is the worst.

“It’s important for the public to know that this is happening. And they need to be safe,” Ramakrishnan said.

They filed a police report for this burglary and ones prior.

We reached out to Fremont police and are still waiting to hear back.

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By Allie Jennerjahn

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    DENVER (KMGH) — A dog owner is facing criminal charges while fighting the city to keep his dog, Fred, from being euthanized after a fight with another dog in the same household.

“My wife tries to separate them unsuccessfully, and in last ditch effort, sticks her arm out right in front of Fred’s face to try to prevent him from biting his brother. She gets bitten on her arm, breaks her arm,” Francis Wilson explained to Denver7 “EMS gets called. EMS calls Denver Animal Control.”

That’s when Josh Rolfe with animal protection began an investigation. He told Denver7, the Wilsons didn’t want to keep Fred and the agency deemed Fred to be ‘dangerous.’

That’s when euthanasia was suggested. When Wilson tried to fight it, he was given a criminal summons.

Denver7 is digging into how the City and County of Denver handles dangerous animals, after Wilson reached out directly with concerns.

“That’s when it crossed the line for me, you’re trying to coerce me into euthanizing a dog that shouldn’t be euthanized simply under threat of criminal charges,” Wilson said. “We truly don’t believe that he was a dangerous animal.”

Rolfe said they use a scale of 1-6 to make that determination: 1 being no scrapes during an attack and 6 being death.

Animal protection rated Wilson’s wife’s broken arm a 5. That rating recommends euthanasia.

“The fact that a dog that’s this large, caused this level of injury to it’s own owner who it’s been living with for several years, doesn’t create a good scenario for future incidents when the dog’s interacting with a complete stranger,” Rolfe said.

It’s a balance between the interest of the owner and keeping the community safe, according to Rolfe.

“In this types of situations when the animals, just in our professional opinion, dangerous to the community. It’s just not safe to adopt out or transfer to another rescue organization,” Rolfe said.

For context, Rolfe said the shelter sees up to 700 dog bites a year and bites rated five or six, make up 5% of the bites the see.

Despite those concerns, Wilson won his case and Fred is now with a new family.

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By Óscar Contreras

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    WINDSOR, Colorado (KMGH) — A Colorado Springs man convicted on several weapons-related charges for shooting at police in Windsor last year was sentenced by a judge Tuesday to more than 200 years in the Department of Corrections.

Damien Jackson, who was found guilty on Aug. 1 of shooting at police outside the AmercInn in Windsor, had been found guilty on several counts, including five counts of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and menacing.

Jackson had allegedly set off a fire alarm at the hotel and then jumped on an arriving fire truck and refused to come down, according to the investigation team.

Several area law enforcement agencies responded, and the suspect was safely taken into custody after the gun battle in the presence of hotel patrons and staff, the report states.

The report also stated Jackson was in possession of multiple firearms, ammunition and ballistic vests, at the time of the incident.

“Not only did Mr. Jackson nearly take the lives of five members of our community, including three members of law enforcement, but he has also repeatedly taken zero accountability for his actions and would remain a significant risk to the community,” said District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin in a prepared statement.

The sentences for the first five counts are required by law to return consecutively.

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Merieme Arif
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