A Mexican restaurant operator had good reason to kill his wife’s alleged lover.
The “lover” had raped his wife and was threatening to harm their children.
That’s the contention of Gregorio Leon’s defense attorneys in documents filed at the Lexington County courthouse, according to The State newspaper.
The Chronicle asked 11th Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard and Leon’s defense attorney, state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, to confirm details of The State’s article.
Due to a judicial gag order, neither could respond but another source close to the case confirmed it.
Harpootlian may try to convince a jury to acquit Leon of murder in shooting Arturo Bravo Santos, 28.
Santos died on Valentine’s Day night 2016 at a ride-sharing parking lot near I-20 and US 378. Santos was clad only in his socks in the back seat of a pickup truck with Leon’s wife.
Leon, 52, opened the truck door and fired, according to police reports.
He then called 911 saying, “I shot my wife’s lover.”
The documents claim:
• Santos repeatedly forced her into sex by threatening her children.
• She continued seeing him to prevent him from disclosing the relationship or harming her children.
• Leon killed Santos in self-defense. Using deadly force to save your life is a valid murder defense.
• Santos told Leon’s wife that he “was going to kill Greg,” she told investigators.
Leon, 52, works with the San Jose restaurant chain that employs 150 people.
He had owned 7 of them.
He spent 6 months in federal prison and paid a $180,000 fine for employing 60 illegal immigrants.
In 2015, he gave key evidence against Lexington County Sheriff Jimmy Metts that led to a 366-day sentence in federal prison.
Leon is on house arrest, free to tend to his businesses, on a $500,000 bond to assure he appears in court.
The defense documents say Santos 1st raped Leon’s wife in 2014 and:
• Forced her to buy him the $40,000 Toyota Tundra pickup in which he died.
• Threatened 2 other women for money and sex.
• Had 3 known aliases and ties to a violent drug cartel known as Los Zetas.
• Was an undocumented Mexican who had been living illegally in this country under multiple aliases.
The defense says Leon had a tracking device on his wife’s car to locate her at the ride-sharing parking lot.
He then went to the pickup truck, where he found his wife and Santos.