Local News in Brief : Accused Officer Fired

William Leasure, a former Los Angeles police officer, charged with two contract murders and other felonies, has been fired from the LAPD after having been relieved of duty for more than a year.

Leasure, 41, an 18-year member of the Los Angeles Police Department, was fired after Chief Daryl F. Gates agreed with a Board of Rights recommendation that he be dismissed.

The recommendation followed three days of administrative hearings into a charge that Leasure knowingly possessed a stolen vehicle, a charge unrelated to the criminal counts he now faces, according to Cmdr. William Booth.

Leasure had been relieved of duty without pay since February, 1987. His dismissal was recommended last year, but Leasure appealed it on the grounds that he did not then have an attorney.