Leffew
A man was found guilty Wednesday of battery causing serious bodily injury and disorderly conduct relating to a December 2020 altercation at a Greenwood restaurant.
During a two-day trial, a jury heard arguments on four charges for Joshua Leffew, 28, of Greenwood. He was found guilty of battery causing serious bodily injury as a Level 5 felony and a Class A Misdemeanor, as well as disorderly conduct, a Class B Misdemeanor. He was found not guilty of intimidation, as a Level 5 Felony.
Before the trial began, a misdemeanor count of battery causing serious bodily injury was dismissed.
On Dec. 4, 2020, Greenwood Police were called to a bar in the 1200 block of U.S. 31 following a reported altercation between two groups of people. Leffew and another individual, identified as Joel A. Saxton, 31, of Greenwood, walked past a group of four people, including two white males, a white female and a Black male, sitting together in the restaurant as they were leaving, the probable cause affidavit filed with Johnson County Circuit Court says.
The group told Greenwood Police Leffew and another man allegedly began hurling racial epithets at them, including calling the Black male the N-word and the rest of the group N-word lovers. They said the men also allegedly chanted “white power” and made an arm salute associated with white supremacist groups such as the Nazis.
The group told police they were angry about the epithets and the female approached him and one of the men allegedly hit her and knocked her to the ground. When two of her friends tried to assist her, those people were allegedly hit by Leffew and Sexton, the affidavit says.
Before they departed the group said Leffew told the group “I’ll get my gun. Do you want to get shot?” Leffew and Sexton then went to Leffew’s truck and one of them fired a gun one time. Greenwood police found a single shell casing at the scene that matches a Glock owned by Leffew, the affidavit says.
They then left the scene in Leffew’s truck and were located shortly after that by Greenwood police, the affidavit says.
In a statement on the trial, Johnson County Prosecutor Joe Villanueva thanked deputy prosecutors Joe Sayler and Drew Foster and other staff members for their work in securing this conviction.
“Hate like this has no place in Johnson County and we look forward to taking the last step in holding Leffew accountable at the upcoming sentencing hearing,” Villanueva said.
Leffew was taken into custody after the verdict was announced Wednesday and could face up to six years in prison. Leffew is set for a sentencing hearing on Oct. 3.
Robert Alden, an Indianapolis attorney representing Leffew and Sexton, said Leffew was “portrayed as something he is not,” but did not comment further when asked for a comment on the trial.
The case against Sexton is still pending and is set for a bench trial set on Nov. 17.
