Parolee Wielding Firearm Is Killed by Deputies

A parolee who shot and wounded a sheriff’s deputy after a traffic stop in Artesia early Wednesday was shot to death as he emerged from a building pointing a weapon at sheriff’s SWAT team members, investigators said.

Authorities identified the gunman as Ebon Leggs, 26, of Los Angeles, an ex-convict who has served time for a robbery at an automated teller machine, said Deputy Henry Garza, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman.

The deputy, whose identity was not released, was wounded in the earlobe but was spared more serious injury because his bullet-proof vest stopped a second projectile. He was treated and released from Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, authorities said. He did not realize he had been shot in the chest until detectives found the bullet hole in his vest.

The incident began during a traffic stop on Pioneer Boulevard near the Artesia Freeway just after 1 a.m., when the deputy checked the suspect’s license and saw that he was on parole.

As the deputy returned to the suspect’s car, the man began shooting, investigators said. The officer fired back, but the gunman abandoned his car and ran to a vacant office building several blocks away and barricaded himself.

Deputies and SWAT team members surrounded the building in the 17200 block of Clarkdale Avenue. They were able to persuade the gunman to come out at 8:10 a.m.

But as he walked out, he held a gun to his head, said Garza. Officers tried repeatedly to get him to put the gun down, but the suspect kept the weapon pointed to his head, Garza said.

When he finally lowered the gun he then pointed it at deputies, Garza said. A SWAT team member then shot the suspect in the upper torso, killing him, Garza said.