LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — The defense is gearing up to present its case in the Greg Leon murder trial next week after the prosecution wrapped its case Friday.
Leon is known in the Midlands for his family's Mexican restaurants and now for his involvement in a 2016 shooting death.
Leon is charged with murder and possessing a weapon during a violent crime after prosecutors say he killed his wife's lover on Valentine's Day seven years ago.
The state called 21 witnesses over four days, mostly from law enforcement, to prove that Leon knew about his wife's affair. The prosecution claims Leon created a malicious plan to kill Rachel Leon and her lover, Arturo Bravo Santos.
The defense, however, argues that their client didn't know about the affair but suspected his wife might be using drugs. When he caught her in the backseat of a pickup truck in an empty parking lot, the defense said Leon thought his wife was getting attacked and shot Santos in self-defense.
The state submitted evidence and called in witnesses who testified that Leon had placed a tracking device under the hood of his wife's car in January. At that point, his phone data shows the user had visited dating websites, which the state said means Leon was looking for his wife's profile on the site.
The state said that's when Leon began planning to kill Santos. Then, prosecuting attorneys called in a witness who acted as an informant for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, saying one of Leon's associates offered her money to lie to investigators to paint the victim in a bad light by saying he was involved in illegal activity.
The defense refuted all of this, saying that Leon might not have been the person using his phone when it showed visits to dating sites. Defense attorney Jack Swerling questioned the SLED informant's credibility and the victims' character, comparing him to a gigolo and pointing out that Arturo Bravo Santos had multiple aliases and false identifications with him at the time of his death.
While cross-examining law enforcement, the defense also pointed out the lack of visibility in the crime scene footage, making it hard to see the altercation in the crucial seconds when Santos was shot.
The defense did file a motion to dismiss the case based on insufficient evidence, which is standard in most cases. Judge Walton McLeod denied this motion, which means the defense will start its case on Monday at 11 a.m.