Indian Head Park police sergeant shot son in clash over vodka
By Megan Crepeau
Chicago Tribune
December 14, 2017
The onetime police chief of southwest suburban Indian Head Park — now a sergeant with the department — shot and seriously wounded his 22-year-old son early Tuesday after his son drank his vodka and replaced it with water, Cook County prosecutors alleged Thursday.
Raymond Leuser, 48, called in sick at work Monday and was seen on surveillance video at a convenience store buying vodka, pizza and popcorn, said Assistant State’s Attorney Erin Antonietti.
Later Monday, Leuser’s son, who lives with his father, drank several shots of the Smirnoff vodka, then poured water into the bottle to replace the missing alcohol, Antonietti said.
About 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, the son was in the basement of their home in the 6200 block of South Nashville Avenue when he heard footsteps upstairs. He walked upstairs, and Leuser turned to him and “made a guttural type of yell,” Antonietti said.
Leuser then fired shots, hitting his son in the stomach, both shoulders and the left thigh, Antonietti said.
Leuser called 911 to report a shooting, then hung up the phone while the call taker asked him questions.
As Chicago police arrived on the scene, Leuser exited the house with his hands up, prosecutors said. Leuser told officers "he's in the basement," according to police reports.
Officers then found Leuser's son in the basement covered in blood, the report said. The son told a sergeant that his father shot him four times, according to the report. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
In the house, police found two .45-caliber handguns — one empty and the other loaded.
Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr. called prosecutors’ story “disturbing” and ordered Leuser held without bail on charges of attempted murder and aggravated battery. The judge also prohibited Leuser from having contact with his son.
Leuser’s attorney, Daniel Yukich, noted that Leuser suffered a black eye and scratches and that the house was in disarray, implying that he and his son had engaged in a mutual scuffle. But Antonietti denied the assertion, saying police on the scene saw no sign of such a fight.
Yukich disputed prosecutors’ assertion that Leuser and his son lived together, saying the son only occasionally stays there. Leuser is not married and has one other child, Yukich said.
Leuser is a Marine Corps veteran who served overseas and has been a sergeant with the Indian Head Park police “for quite some time,” Yukich said.
Yukich declined to comment after the court hearing.
Leuser is the second-ranking officer in the Indian Head Park Police Department, according to its website. He was acting police chief from May 2015 to May 2016.
Indian Head Park Village President Tom Hinshaw said Leuser currently is on unpaid administrative leave.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to Ray and his family,” Hinshaw said.
Village administrator John DuRocher said he was aware of no previous complaints about or disciplinary issues with Leuser.
Indian Head Park has about 20 full- and part-time officers on its Police Department, Hinshaw said.
2 comments:
Sounds like a fight before the shots were fired. The Sarge ain't saying nothing. I'll bet the boy leaves his shit alone.
At least it wasn't over something trivial.
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