Crime & Safety
Malibu Man Accused of Shooting Neighbor Pleads Not Guilty
Patrick Kearns Leach is accused of shooting his neighbor during a dispute on a driveway they share on Winding Way in Malibu.
A Malibu man accused of shooting his neighbor during a dispute last month pleaded not guilty Tuesday to attempted murder.
Patrick Kearns Leach, 27, is also charged with one count of assault with a semi-automatic firearm in connection with the Jan. 9 shooting of his neighbor on a driveway the two share on West Winding Way.
The victim, 49-year-old Eric Shanks, was shot in the chest with a .45-caliber pistol.
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Leach is free on $1 million bail while awaiting his next appearance in Van Nuys Superior Court March 18, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.
Leach is the son of the co-creator of the PBS show "Barney and Friends," and Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher in Texas.
