LEXINGTON, S.C. — A judge has sentenced Lexington County restaurant owner Greg Leon to 30 years in prison for killing his wife's lover out of malice on Valentine's Day seven years ago.
Judge Walton McLeod issued the punishment late Thursday afternoon. The jury had convicted him a short time earlier on both murder and a weapons charge after three hours of deliberation.
Leon was accused of shooting to death Arturo Bravo Santos, who prosecutors said was having an affair with Leon's wife, on February 14, 2016. Prosecutors say he found the two in a parked truck in a Lexington County park and ride.
Leon owned a group of Mexican restaurants in the area and was well-known in the community.
Prosecutors said this was a malicious plan by Leon to catch his wife having an affair and murder the pair. During the trial, they claimed Leon had installed a tracking device on his wife's vehicle a month before the killing and decided to track them to that location on the night of the killing.
Prosecutors showed pictures of Leon's wife and Bravos that the couple had taken together. The state said the wife locked the private images into an app on her phone that couldn't be unlocked without a passcode.
They also claimed he discovered $50,000 was missing from a safe at the couple's home.
Leon told the jury he thought his wife might 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.
Both sides brought out competing pathologists who tried to determine what position Bravos was in when Leon shot him. The defense claimed he was moving his arms, which could have made Leon think he was in danger. But the prosecution said that wasn't the case, and Leon was never in danger since Bravos had no weapon.
On Thursday, the state prosecution shared audio from the 9-1-1 call Leon made moments after the shooting allegedly confessing to catching his wife cheating, and shooting his wife and her lover. They said Leon did this to defend his honor.
Leon's family and friends defended his character in court before the judge made his sentence, calling for him to enforce the minimum sentence. The state prosecution declined to comment to reporters after Thursday's sentencing. However, defense attorney Jack Swerling told News 19 he plans to appeal the sentence.