LEXINGTON, S.C. — The defense has rested its case in the trial of Greg Leon, the Lexington County restaurant owner accused killing of his wife's lover on Valentine's Day 2016.
Leon is on trial at the Lexington County Courthouse. He has been charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in the death of Arturo Bravo Santos.
After the defense rested, Prosecutor Rick Hubbard called former SLED Forensic Investigator Jamie Johnson. She testified about the investigator's recreat of the crime scene and that the position of Leon's arm didn't matter.
The Defense argues Leon couldn't have been able to see what was happening in the car because it was dark outside.
Whether the victim, Arturo Bravo Santos was reaching for something when Greg Leon shot him remains the center of Leon's trial.
The defense called Dr. James Fulcher, a forensic pathologist to the stand. He testified about the gunshot wounds that killed Artuto Bravo Santos. He said Santos was leaning forward when he was shot and killed by Leon.
If Santos was reaching toward the car's center console as Leon claims, the defense could argue Leon was acting in self-defense.
But if Santo's arm was down by his side or if he was reaching to open the door, as the state argued, the case for self-defense isn't as strong.
The prosecution has maintained Leon had gone there to kill his wife because she was having an affair.
The trial of the local restaurateur began on June 20 with the first witnesses called in the case. Defense attorney Jack Swerling is representing the 55-year-old Leon, who admitted to killing the 28-year-old Santos, but said it was in self-defense.
Before the trial, Leon was charged by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) with allegedly providing false testimony while SLED was questioning persons related to the case between December 2019 and February 2022.
On June 26, Judge Walton McLeod called a two-day recess after the prosecution rested so attorneys on both sides could work out a legal issue. On June 29, after denying the defense team's motion for a mistrial, Leon took the stand to testify in his own defense.
Leon told the jury he thought his wife may have been involved in drugs and didn't come to the crime scene that night intending to kill anyone. He said he heard his wife screaming inside a vehicle and then saw Santos, who he claimed threatened him.
The prosecution, however, said Leon knew about his wife's affair and had been tracking her for months with a device he installed in her vehicle. They argue he went to the location that night to kill her.
The trial was also halted July 3 and 4 for the Independence Day holiday.