Man claiming corruption in LCSO has home searched
Outspoken Lake County Sheriff's Office critic Terry Leonard was served a search warrant Thursday afternoon by the very department he has claimed is corrupt.
"It's a bullying tactic," Leonard said Friday afternoon.
The 2 p.m. search of his Polson residence resulted in the seizure of computers, electronic storage devices and printed e-mails, Lake County attorney Mitch Young said.
"It is an ongoing investigation," he said. "I can't go into any specifics at this time."
Young would not reveal potential charges, which have yet to be filed, but Leonard confirmed he might be charged with criminal defamation, a misdemeanor. The statute, Montana Code Annotated 45-8-212, states "Whoever, with knowledge of its defamatory character, orally, in writing, or by any other means, including by electronic communication, as defined in 45-8-213, communicates any defamatory matter to a third person without the consent of the person defamed commits the offense of criminal defamation."
"If they want to go to court, I'm more than happy to go to court," Leonard said. "I have lawyers telling me I have a case against the county."
LCSO Det. Rick Lenz could not comment on any specifics, other than to confirm the search.
Leonard has run advertisements in this newspaper and runs the website www.asksheriffluckylarson.com. The "ask your sheriff" website claims to want to "restore integrity to the Office of Lake County Sheriff," and encourages citizens to ask Sheriff Lucky Larson and Undersheriff Jay Doyle about "misappropriated mil-levy money," "SRT T-shirts condoning violence/death/gore," and "missing/stolen ammunition," among other things.
"The website and ads were run for the sole intent of educating the public on a lot of corruption going on in the sheriff's office of Lake County," Leonard said.
Leonard, who served as a reserve deputy for six years before becoming a full-time deputy in Oct. 2009, was fired from the department "without a reason" in Feb. 2010, he said. Leonard claims that corruption is rampant in the office, yet law enforcement officers are scared to speak out due to fears of repercussions.
"Nobody could say anything because they are afraid of losing their jobs," he said. "I'm going to come under fire no matter what because I'm a whistleblower, but I've said from the beginning, I'll take the heat."
The pressure on the county level is the latest "heat" for Leonard, who is also the subject of an investigation by the state Commission of Political Practices. A complaint filed by Lanny VanMeter, treasurer of the Jay Doyle for Sheriff campaign, alleges that Leonard violated various campaign laws, and is operating an illegal Political Action Committee (PAC) with Independent sheriff candidate Steven Kendley. Both Leonard and Kendley have denied any affiliation and Leonard claims his site is not intended to influence the Nov. 2 general election.
"I don't care who becomes sheriff, as long as they are honorable," he said. "This isn't going to stop after the election. It's going to be a watchdog for this county to maintain accountability in the sheriff's office."