A Merrillville man accused of fatally shooting a man at a Gary junkyard in 2018 was found guilty of murder on Thursday by a Lake County jury.
Hillard Hathaway, 52, was found guilty on the murder charge, but not guilty on a count of attempted murder. Lake Superior Court Judge Samuel Cappas took the firearm enhancement under advisement.
Hathaway and Michael Brown were charged with the January 2018 murder for allegedly shooting Danny Leake, 44, of Gary. Leake was found shot in an empty lot near the junkyard in the 1400 block of East 49th Avenue, court records show. Brown was acquitted in his murder case in November 2018.
During the trial, Arthur Smith testified that he thought Brown stole some of his auto batteries from a Gary junkyard that Smith helped run. The attempted murder count was for allegedly shooting at Smith in between opening fire on Leake. Smith testified Brown was “limping”.
Prior testimony in Brown’s trial showed he had a prosthetic leg from a motorcycle crash.
Before the shooting, Leake, Smith’s business partner and childhood friend, called Brown several times, telling him to bring the batteries back. The situation snowballed, leading to Leake’s Jan. 25, 2018 murder, Smith said.
“I was ready to go,” Smith said on the stand Tuesday, describing his mindset as they waited for Brown and Hathaway to return with the batteries. On cross-examination, he admitted it was about two hours. Smith told Leake he wanted to get a gun. Smith had a beer, while Leake had two beers, he said.
When Hathaway and Brown returned, Hathaway, the passenger, had a gun in his hand. Brown, driving, also had a gun, though Smith didn’t see it immediately. Until the shooting, Brown’s gun was pointed down, he said.
Smith said he was “trying to squash the situation,” moving between Leake and Hathaway, who was pointing his gun. Leake and Hathaway “started to argue” and it got “out of hand.”
Hathaway put the gun away, before he pulled it back out and started shooting a couple of times at Leake. Smith grabbed Hathaway’s arm. Hathaway tried to shoot a few times at Smith, who “pushed him off” and “ran.”
Hathaway chased Leake around a tree, firing more shots. Leake fell near where Brown stood, who was also shooting, Smith said.
Smith called 911. He admitted that he lied to two dispatchers, including one who called him back, and at first to the detective. On the 911 call, he gave a fake name and lied about his proximity to the shooting, because he had an active traffic warrant in Chicago.
On a lengthy cross-examination, defense lawyer Robert Varga asked Smith about inconsistencies in details he testified about in April 2018.
Varga previously said Monday that Leake and Brown argued on the phone before the shooting, alcohol was involved and they would question Smith’s credibility, who the lawyer argued lied to police.
Officers responded shortly after 1:30 a.m. that day for a call of shots fired and found Leake lying on his back in an empty lot near a junkyard, the affidavit states. Leake had “several gunshot wounds to his upper body,” and the Lake County coroner’s office ruled his death a homicide.
