Jailed LAPD Officer Accused in 2 Killings, Court Documents Show

A 16-year Los Angeles police veteran, already jailed for his role in a theft ring dealing in luxury yachts, allegedly took part in two contract murders, according to court documents in Oklahoma.

The documents allege that William E. Leasure, 39, arranged the 1977 murder of a San Gabriel tortilla factory owner and four years later drove the getaway car in the slaying of the man who hired him to arrange the first murder, according to Oklahoma news reports.

The accusations are contained in papers filed in Oklahoma County District Court in support of a warrant to search the home of Dennis Winebaugh, a 47-year-old Oklahoma City security guard charged with the first murder.

In the sworn affidavit, Los Angeles police detective Addison Arce alleged that Leasure gave $1,000 to Winebaugh, who allegedly shot factory owner Gilberto Cervantes, 76, in the driveway of his San Gabriel home in 1977. Police allege Cervantes’ stepson, Anthony Delos Reyes, 63, and Reyes’ wife, Paulette, 43, paid Winebaugh to kill Cervantes so they could inherit his business.

1981 Killing

Anthony Reyes was slain in the parking lot of a San Fernando Valley restaurant in 1981 by a man identified as Dennis France, 41, the affidavit said. France had told police in August that he had driven the getaway car in the 1977 shooting, and had done the shooting in the 1981 murder, the court papers said.

In the affidavit, the detective alleged that the second murder was paid for by Paulette Reyes, and that Leasure drove the getaway car. The detective identified France, Leasure and Paulette Delos Reyes as co-conspirators in the two slayings.

Last September, France was asked by Los Angeles police to tape a telephone conversation with Winebaugh. During that call, Winebaugh admitted involvement in the murder, according to the affidavit. Winebaugh last month pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. He is being held without bail in Los Angeles County Jail. His preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 16.

Leasure, who is being held in the Contra Costa County Jail on $500,000 bail, was ordered to trial last week on the theft charges. He was arrested in May while allegedly trying to deliver a stolen 41-foot power yacht to a buyer. He is also under investigation for firearms violations, and there are reports that he is suspected of selling drugs and stowing the money in bank accounts on Grand Cayman Island.