FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — Attorneys on both sides made their final push in court on Monday to the jury that will soon decide Andrew Leon’s fate.
“This is a murder case,” prosecutor Kendall Reynolds said. “Believability and credibility are what this case really comes down to. Who do you believe?”
“The real question I want you to ask yourself is, if he planned to kill April, why did he wait?” public defender Brendan Bergh said.
Andrew Leon has pleaded not guilty to murder. He is accused of shooting and killing his then-girlfriend’s mother, April Diaz.
Leon showed up at Diaz’s Huron home in November 2023 and wanted to speak to her daughter, his girlfriend.
But Diaz refused to let Leon inside. That is when prosecutors say Leon shot Diaz 11 times, firing until his gun jammed before running away.
“He knows he’s guilty of murder,” Reynolds said. “It’s up to you to decide how to interpret that evidence.”
Leon has already admitted to pulling the trigger, but his attorney argues it was in self-defense after the victim flashed a knife.
“That’s what this case is,” Bergh said. “It’s about what Andrew believed.”
Prosecutors argued it was Leon who set the scene by showing up with a gun in hand and racking it. They say he produced the danger that he is now using to justify his actions.
“Mr. Leon made up seeing this knife,” Reynolds said. “Made up seeing April come at him like Mike Myers, and as I illustrated during cross-examination, that didn’t happen.”
With prosecutors branding him a murderer, Leon — just 21 — watched intently and, at times, spoke with his attorney.
“The District Attorney had not proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Bergh said.
Jury deliberations are set to resume on Tuesday morning. If convicted, Andrew Leon could face up to 50 years to life in state prison.
