DENVER — The man accused of shooting and killing five people in Denver and Lakewood in December pleaded guilty to menacing in 2012 after pointing a gun at two coworkers, according to newly-unsealed court documents.
The documents show Lyndon McLeod got into an argument with two coworkers at a medical marijuana warehouse on North Holly Street in Denver on Jan. 30, 2012.
One of the victims told police that when they returned from lunch that day, they had a confrontation with McLeod, according to an arrest affidavit. The victims said McLeod walked toward one of them and intentionally bumped into him. McLeod then turned away, pulled a handgun from his waistband, pointed it at the victim, and said "I know my rights! You pushed me and I can put one in you!" according to the affidavit.
When the other victim told McLeod to put the gun away, McLeod pointed the gun at him, according to the affidavit. The victims eventually persuaded McLeod to put the gun away and convinced him to leave the scene, the affidavit says.
Two witnesses confirmed the victims' description of the incident, the affidavit says.
McLeod was arrested Feb. 2, 2012 on two counts of felony menacing, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty in April 2012 to one count of felony menacing, the documents show.
He was granted a two-year deferred judgment. He fulfilled the conditions of probation and the case was dismissed and then sealed in 2014, documents show.
In January 2021, a man in Germany contacted the Denver Police Department to warn them about McLeod. The man cited "Sanction," McLeod's trilogy of dystopian, violence-filled novels in which he named two people whom he allegedly murdered – Alicia Cardenas and Michael Swinyard – and one person he attacked, his former business partner Jeremy Costilow. The first two books were published in 2019, and the third in 2020.
Both victims in the 2012 incident were also named in the alleged shooter's novels. McLeod's books imagined him as an alpha male -- killing enemies and collecting women.
In his first book, McLeod claimed the coworkers were plotting against him. His second book contains a detailed account of how he would kill one of them.
The German tipster told police he saw the books and some of McLeod's online postings as signs that he was capable of committing serious acts of violence.
A police detective told the tipster he would contact him with any questions, but the tipster said that was the last he heard from DPD.
DPD said earlier this month that there was no indication McLeod was living in Denver at that time.
After the Dec. 27 shooting spree that left five people dead and two others injured, 9NEWS along with Colorado Public Radio and Denverite petitioned the Denver District Court to unseal the 2012 case. A judge granted that request earlier this month.
9NEWS reached out to DPD to find out what they knew about the 2012 case when they received tips about McLeod's books, but we have not heard back as of Thursday evening.
9NEWS Legal Expert Scott Robinson said even if police knew about this case and knew about the books, that wouldn't have been enough to arrest McLeod.
"The information police had last year, coupled with the book and its contents, it certainly raises suspicions about McLeod and the likelihood of criminal conduct," Robinson said. "But what it didn't create was probable cause to arrest or search in any location."
According to Robinson, the 2012 case was handled in a routine manner. He said it is common for people to have the records sealed after cases are dismissed as a result of successful completion of a deferred judgment.
"Typically deferred judgments are offered to first-time offenders and statistically people who successfully complete deferred judgments usually do not re-offend," Robinson said. "It's really impossible to second-guess a prosecutor or a judge in a case like this because they are doing the best they can based on statistics alone."
Four members of Colorado's congressional delegation are asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate law enforcement's handling of prior encounters with McLeod.
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