A Franklin County man has received a prison sentence of 78 months for a violent assault on his girlfriend and a neighbor, along with the fatal shooting of his dog. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel in St. Louis last Thursday.
30-year-old Leslie Rector, already a convicted felon, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, a charge he was not legally permitted to carry due to his status. On April 16, 2024, while under the influence, he assaulted his girlfriend, shot his dog to death and, in a subsequent search for his girlfriend, assaulted his neighbor, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Police were alerted to the incident when the girlfriend approached officers from the Pacific Police Department at a gas station on the following morning, displaying significant injuries to her face and head. Believing the attack occurred within their jurisdiction, the officers reached out to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded, ensuring the victim received hospital care, and then proceeded to Rector’s residence where they discovered a blood-stained van and, the lifeless body of the dog.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Pacific Police Department jointly investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Hoag, the prosecutor, emphasized the severity of Rector’s crimes in the context of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence. This case was treated as part of that joint effort to make communities safer, and to address violence coming from a strategic enforcement stand-point.
In accordance with PSN's principles as launched by the Department on May 26, 2021, the focus has been on fostering trust in the community, supporting local organizations in preventing violence, setting precise enforcement priorities, and diligently measuring outcomes.
