A pickup driver who dragged a National City police officer a short distance and who was later shot by police was sentenced to seven years in state prison.
Jesus Gustavo Leos, 30, was given five years and four months for his guilty plea to felony assault on a peace officer and using his truck as a deadly weapon in an April 16 incident at 7:50 a.m. near East 16th St. in National City.
Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Garry Haehnle imposed a 1-year term consecutively for Leos’ guilty plea to assaulting another inmate in jail. Leos also received a consecutive 8-month term for an East County burglary which totals seven years.
Leos also pleaded guilty to child endangerment because a baby was in the pickup at the time. An attempted murder charge was dismissed in exchange for his guilty pleas to the other charges. Leos received credits of spending 90 days in jail.
Two officers went to the area to investigate a report of a suspicious vehicle in an alley and discovered Leos, a woman, and a baby in a black pickup. Leos was wanted on a warrant, and began backing up out of the alley, briefly dragging one officer at the driver’s window.
The second officer opened fire, and Leos was shot in the arm. Other rounds missed. The officer was not seriously injured.
The truck was later found abandoned and residents said they saw a bloodied man running through the neighborhood and a cemetery. Leos was found inside a storage shed near the cemetery around 9:30 a.m. and was arrested.
A prosecutor said the burglary charge involved Leos’ attempt to cash a check that belonged to his girlfriend’s parents. Leos wasn’t able to cash it, and a burglary charge was filed because he entered a business with intent to defraud.
