Son says his father 'made mistakes' but was a good man

<p>The man shot dead this week by a sheriff's deputy after a chase through Santa Rosa was an avid athlete who ran in San Francisco's Bay to Breakers races, worked full time and was trying to carve a straight path in his life, family members said Thursday.</p><p>“Yeah, he made mistakes in his life, but he was a good man,” said his son, Justin Leday, 25, of Santa Rosa.</p><p>Albert Mike Leday Jr., 49, of Santa Rosa was killed Tuesday afternoon in a dramatic encounter at an entrance to Coddingtown Mall, just as rush hour began.</p><p>Police said he was a dangerous felon with a long history of criminal convictions, most recently in 2003 for burglary. He was paroled on that sentence in October 2009.</p><p>Court records dating from 1994 show that he had been convicted on charges that included burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and causing great bodily injury, and that he several times had restraining orders issued against him.</p><p>Justin Leday said his father, who lived in an apartment near West Third Street, was an Army veteran, a loving father of three boys, a doting grandfather and excited to be working as a maintenance technician for a Santa Rosa company that repairs Amtrak buses.</p><p>“I don't understand,” he said through tears. “I just want to know why my father was shot with no weapon on him.”</p><p>Leday said he didn't know why his father led deputies on the chase from Larkfield to its fatal conclusion at Guerneville Road and West Steele Lane.</p><p>“I don't know what was going through his head. I don't know why he ran,” he said. </p><p>Leday speculated his father, who two weeks ago bought the white Volvo that on Tuesday he crashed into a light pole, bringing the pursuit to a close, didn't want to be pulled over because he had a lengthy criminal record.</p><p>“My father's been arrested before. It's not a secret that he's been in trouble a lot before,” Leday said. “Two weeks ago, we were talking and he said he hoped he didn't get pulled over by sheriff's deputies.</p><p>“He felt like his life was threatened by them, not that literally they were out gunning for him, but he just didn't want any trouble.”</p><p>According to the police account of the events, after Leday crashed his car he got out and “confronted” deputies and “refused to comply with ... numerous orders to surrender.” </p><p>He then appeared to reach behind himself into his waistband, which he jerked up several times, leading the deputy to believe he had a weapon and to shoot at him three times, police said.</CW></p><p>Justin Leday suggested his father was reaching for his wallet, which he kept in his back pocket. He pointed out that investigators have not found a weapon of any sort, despite a search that lasted nearly 24 hours, and he said the shooting was unjustified.</p><p>“I'm not going to say he didn't do do it (reach behind himself). I'm not going to say he wasn't a knucklehead, but he didn't have a weapon on him, they didn't see a weapon on him,” he said.</p><p>Santa Rosa police, who are investigating the shooting as part of a countywide protocol, have declined to release the name of the deputy involved in the shooting.</p><p>Late Wednesday night, Police Lt. Paul Henry said he expected the name would be released soon. He said the delay was typical, to “give the deputy or the officer involved time to talk to his family and to begin to cope and process what occurred.”</p><p>On Thursday, Police Lt. John Noland said the name wasn't being released because of concerns that that would put law enforcement personnel in danger.</p><p>“There's information that would indicate that if we released a name or names, there's a possibility that that could place a person or persons in jeopardy,” Noland said.</p><p>Police said there is no gang involvement in the case. Noland would not elaborate what the danger or safety issues are.</p><p>He said one of the deputies pursuing Leday during the chase had had previous contact with him and knew at least some of his criminal history and background.</p><p>He would not say if that deputy was the one who shot him. Three shots were fired and one hit the suspect, a fatal wound to the chest.</p><p>A statement released by the Sheriff's Office the night of the shooting said the events leading to it were triggered by a woman at the La Mancha apartment complex in Larkfield who called for help, saying she believed her ex-boyfriend had stolen jewelry from her. She also said he had assaulted her a few days earlier and at the time had carried a knife.</p><p><CW-30>When a deputy arrived at the apartment, he saw Leday's car and tried to pull him over, said Sheriff's Lt. Chris Spallino. But Leday drove off at speeds up 90 mph on Old Redwood Highway south to Santa Rosa, passing cars on the left and right to try to elude the deputy, Spallino said.</p><p>Justin Leday said his father was going to move into the La Mancha apartments, but not with the woman, and that he was picking up some of his belongings from her.</p><p>He said his father and the woman had known each other for only two weeks and said that when his family questioned the apartment manager, the manager said there were no disturbances that might have been an assault.</p><p>Leday was the 21st person to be killed in a confrontation with law enforcement since 1999 in Sonoma County.</p>