Justice has been slow in coming for the family of Monica Leech, but it's on the horizon. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that Kevin Ray James will be facing trial for the 1997 murder of Leech, a bank teller and mother of four who was brutally killed during a bank robbery in Thousand Oaks, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
James, identified as the shooter in the robbery over two decades ago, stands accused of firing the shot that met its tragic end in the back of Leech's head as she worked at Western Financial Bank; moreover, the mishap during the crime saw the assailants net a meager sum just over $11,000, as per the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. Following the presentation of both witnesses and evidence over a three-day preliminary hearing, Judge Derek Malan determined on April 10, that there was sufficient evidence to hold James to answer to charges laid out in March of the previous year.
Denying his guilt, James pleaded not guilty on April 13, 2023, to all charges, including first-degree murder and the special allegations that pin the murder on James during the act of robbery and the use of a firearm, as reported by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. The seasoned Senior Deputy District Attorney Richard Simon and Deputy District Attorney Hayley Moyer from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Homicide Unit are the prosecutors handling the wrenching case.
An information arraignment is on the books for April 24, and will be taking place at the Ventura County Superior Court, courtroom 11, as James waits behind bars, bail denied for a crime that has etched a long-lasting wound in the hearts of a family and community that has awaited answers and justice for over a quarter of a century waiting to see if the scales will at last tip towards closure.
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