Wednesday's 3 p.m. preliminary hearing for accused Auburn triple-murderer Desmonte Leonard may feature testimony from a man who police say was with Leonard in the car that fled the scene of the shooting on June 9.
On Friday, July 6, half of Leonard's legal team filed a motion requesting Jeremy Thomas be made available by Montgomery police on June 11. He was one of two men arrested for hindering the investigation of the murders. He was out on bond for manslaughter charges when he was arrested a week before the trial was scheduled to start. The charges stem from the shooting death of a 14-year-old Montgomery girl.
He has since plead guilty to manslaughter and is due to be sentenced on Thursday, July 12.
Leonard is being charged with three counts of capital murder and two counts of second-degree assault and Thomas is waiting to be sentenced for manslaughter for their alleged roles in the University Heights shooting.
Both men are still being held in Montgomery. Leonard is there because of concerns of his lawyers about his safety in Lee County.
Leonard's attorney Susan James requested Lee County bring Thomas to the hearing from Montgomery and said in the motion that he could provide valuable testimony that discusses the events of that night. She said he would be a pivotal counter witness to those called on by the prosecutors. Lee County District Attorney Robbie Treese has not said who he will call on Wednesday.
The shooting killed Opelika resident DeMario Pitts and former Auburn football player Ladarious Phillips, who were pronounced dead at East Alabama Medical Center on June 9, and former Auburn player Ed Christian was declared dead at the scene. Two Roanoke men, John Robertson and Xavier Moss, and another Auburn football player, Eric Mack, were injured.
Moss and Mack were released from treatment soon after the shooting. Robertson spent almost two weeks at a UAB hospital for a gunshot wound to the head before being released.
Additional charges related to Robertson's injury are pending, according to Auburn police. Auburn PD Captain Tom Stofer said police plan to charge Leonard with attempted murder but have not served the warrants.
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