William Ernest Leasure

Case record: William Ernest Leasure

Background

William Ernest Leasure was called “Mild Bill” by his fellow Los Angeles police officers.

Edward Humes wrote Murderer With a Badge, which described William Leasure as having “his unremarkable 17-year record as a traffic cop.” The account said that from 1976 to 1986 prosecutors charged that he “committed every crime from murder to fraud, from theft to perjury.” The summary also included that Humes wrote that William Leasure “never displayed the personality of a thrill killer -- or any other kind of killer. He never liked to hurt anyone or anything, not people or animals.”

A theme described was that William Leasure liked to impress and to help his friends.

The offence

William Leasure was described as having committed a range of crimes “from murder to fraud, from theft to perjury.”

Two murders were linked to William Leasure through witness testimony by Dennis France:

• the shooting of Ann Smith
• the killing of Tony de los Reyes

A third murder was also described in the testimony: “the 1977 shooting of Tony de los Reyes' wealthy stepfather, Gilberto Cervantes.”

Investigation

William Leasure was arrested in 1986 aboard a stolen yacht near Oakland. He was also suspected of masterminding a multimillion-dollar yacht theft ring that allegedly operated partly in Newport Beach.

In addition, the account said William Leasure faced charges in Northern California alleging the reselling of stolen pleasure boats and insurance fraud.

Arrest

Trial

Dennis France, 45, testified under a promise of immunity from prosecution. He told jurors that he contacted police after William Leasure’s 1986 arrest because he got nervous.

France described their shared activities, saying:

“Me and Bill (Leasure) had done a lot of things together,” France said. “We'd bought (gun) silencers, we'd stole boats, we'd killed people, we'd broken into places.”

When asked whether he had been worried that he might be arrested, France responded:

“No. Not so much as I was afraid of being killed . . . I knew of the murders and I could connect him with 'em.”

France testified that William Leasure drove the getaway car for two slayings and that he also arranged the shootings:

“plus he paid me and arranged 'em and set 'em up.”

France testified that William Leasure paid him $3,500 for shooting Ann Smith, describing her as a friend’s wife who was robbed and killed in her mother’s Highland Park beauty shop on the eve of the couple’s acrimonious divorce hearing in May, 1980. France said:

“(Leasure) told me to go in and make it look like a robbery and then shoot, and that's what I done,” France testified. “I told Bill there was people inside and I couldn't do it. He told me it had to be done today and we weren't coming back. “I just went in and did it.”

France testified that in September 1981 William Leasure engaged him again to kill Tony de los Reyes, describing Tony de los Reyes as the husband of a woman who was a friend of William Leasure’s.

France testified about the setup after Tony de los Reyes left a San Fernando Valley bar, describing that William Leasure waited in the car in the back alley with the motor running. France said he was armed with a shotgun and that William Leasure had told him to rob the man. France testified:

“I told Tony to bring me his wallet, but he put his girlfriend in the car and walked around to the other side. I told Bill he wasn't bringing me his wallet. “Bill said, 'Shoot,' so I shot,” France testified.

France testified that he had been present in a friend's Paramount apartment when William Leasure arrived with an envelope containing $1,000 described as partial payment for a third murder—the 1977 shooting of Tony de los Reyes' wealthy stepfather, Gilberto Cervantes.

France also testified that he had not yet met William Leasure when he drove the car for the triggerman, and that the triggerman told him:

“a police officer wanted this done.”

The defense was expected to cross-examine France, and it was characterized as describing the prosecution’s star witness as:

“a liar, thief, extortionist, schemer and braggart.”

The account said William Leasure was charged with murder and conspiracy in the deaths of Smith and De los Reyes. It stated that if convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

It also said:

• William Leasure “was fired from the Police Department in 1988 for knowingly possessing a stolen vehicle.”
• William Leasure was suspected of masterminding a multimillion-dollar yacht theft ring and faced additional charges in Northern California alleging the reselling of stolen pleasure boats and insurance fraud.

Sentencing

In 1991 William Leasure accepted a plea-bargain agreement on two charges of second-degree murder.

He received a mandatory prison sentence of 15 years to life.

Appeals

No appeal information was included.

Outcome

The disposition stated was “15 years to life on two counts, 1991.”

Other details

William Leasure was described as suspected of masterminding “a multimillion-dollar yacht theft ring” that allegedly operated partly in Newport Beach.

France’s testimony referenced William Leasure’s 1986 arrest aboard a stolen yacht near Oakland.

The account also described the acrimonious divorce hearing context for Ann Smith’s case, specifying:

• Ann Smith was robbed and killed in her mother’s Highland Park beauty shop
• the killing occurred on the eve of the couple’s acrimonious divorce hearing in May, 1980

It also described the setting for the Tony de los Reyes killing as involving a San Fernando Valley bar.

It described the Paramount apartment as the location where William Leasure arrived with an envelope containing $1,000 described as partial payment for the 1977 shooting of Gilberto Cervantes.