Perry man bound over on charges of attempting to kill Mendon family

Booking photo for Charles W. Leff (Courtesy: Cache County Jail)

LOGAN — A 64-year-old Perry man has been bound over on charges that he threatened to kill a family in their Mendon home. Charles W. Leff is being held in the Cache County Jail without bail since being arrested in January.

Leff was in 1st District Court Tuesday afternoon for a preliminary hearing, appearing by video from jail. He has been charged with five counts of attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; four counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person; and, two counts of tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony. Also, he has been charged with five drug, alcohol and protective order violation misdemeanors.

For more then two hours, prosecutors presented their evidence in the case, including interviews with the alleged victim and her 911 call to police. They also played an interview with Leff’s wife, where she described how the suspect angrily left their home on the morning of January 24 and drove to Mendon with the plan to kill several family members.

The woman explained that Leff had become enraged that he couldn’t see his grandchildren. He packed a suitcase with medication, grabbed four firearms, and told her that she would never see him again.

The victim learned about the threat from Leff’s wife and called 911. Another family member witnessed the suspect driving in front of her home several times, before deputies initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle.

Leff was found to be in possession of the four guns and marijuana. He was taken into custody without incident.

As part of their evidence, prosecutors also played two phone calls Leff made to a friend from jail. During the conversations, he asked the man to contact his wife and encourage her to recant her statements to law enforcement. He explained that he was looking at “serious prison time” if she didn’t. The phone calls were allegedly in violation of a protective order the woman had filed earlier against the suspect.

Judge Brian Cannell said prosecutors had provided adequate evidence to show the crimes had occurred. He explained that when you coupled the testimony provided and the evidence that Leff drove from Mendon to Perry, it was sufficient to bind him over on all 16 charges.

Court records show Leff was previously convicted of sodomy of a child, lewdness of a child, aggravated assault and threatening another person with a weapon.

Leff is scheduled to appear again in court April 16. He could face up to life in prison if convicted.


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2 Comments

  • Deedee March 17, 2020 at 9:28 pm Reply

    And why was he running around free? Guns in hand? He had serious convictions earlier. He almost committed murder in his anger. Keep him locked up from now on please.

    • Leff June 20, 2020 at 10:21 am Reply

      You don’t know what your talking about doodoo

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