Saugerties man indicted on kidnapping charge

KINGSTON – A Saugerties man, who allegedly held his common law wife and child at bay with a knife, has been indicted by an Ulster County grand jury on a number of charges including kidnapping in the second degree.

Leo Leonard, 41, is alleged to have cut his wife with a knife and then threatened to kill their daughter, said District Attorney Holly Carnright.

The situation was defused by police officers, who arrived on the scene, said Carnright.

“There was a young officer from Saugerties, Officer Robert Haberski; he took control of the situation, tried to calm the defendant down and really did an excellent job,” he said. “I’m really confident that he saved two lives. He saved the life of that little girl, and frankly he saved the defendant’s life. Under a lot of circumstances, that defendant might have been killed.”

Leonard was also indicted on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, assault in the second degree, endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of burglary in the second degree.