Pastor Leon McCray called 911 on June 1st to report that he was being assaulted by five people on his property but when the cops arrived McCray found himself arrested in front of his assaulters, without having the chance to tell his side.
What We Know:
- Pastor Leon McCray was at his home on June 1st when he noticed two people trying to dump a refrigerator on his property. McCray went outside to ask them to stop but one of the violators verbally attacked him while the other went to retrieve three more attackers.
- When all five white attackers were present, they started attacking McCray physically and verbally. According to McCray, they threatened to kill him and told him that his “Black life didn’t matter”. As an act of self-defense, McCray pulled out his concealed firearm but didn’t pull the trigger. That’s when the attackers got the message and left and McCray called 911.
- Unfortunately, when the authorities arrived, McCray was not given the chance to speak. Instead, the officers went to the white attackers to ask them what happened and moments later, McCray found himself being handcuffed in front of his accusers, who stood by and waved goodbye as he went down the road.
- “I was not given an opportunity to speak,” McCray said. He was told by the officers that he was being arrested for brandishing a gun. “And I said, what about the trespassing and the assault?”
- Shenandoah County Sheriff Timothy Carter shared on Facebook that he met with McCray on June 3rd to discuss the issue and apologize for what he went through. He also announced that the brandishing charge against McCray would be dropped and that the five attackers were arrested after the sheriff’s office “obtained warrants for more severe charges regarding this investigation”.
- Donny Salyers, 43, Dennis Salyers, 26, Farrah Salyers, 42, Christopher Sharp, 57, and Amanda Salyers, 26, are all from Edinburg and facing charges of hate crime and various types of assault. Amanda Salyers and Sharp are facing charges of trespassing. And both Donny and Dennis Salyers are also charged with assault and battery.
- Attorney Bradley G. Pollock, representing Sharp, told the Washington Post that Sharp and Amanda Salyers assumed they had permission to dump their refrigerator in McCray’s dumpster and that they returned it to their property after the confrontation with McCray.
As for the officers that arrested McCray, they have been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending administrative review of the initial incident.
