Murder Investigation: Charges against father downgraded; son still facing original charge
The district attorney’s office has downgraded the charge against one of the men originally charged for the August 2016 murder of Devon Leatherbury.
On June 21, 2018, investigators arrested 55-year old Richard Zelonis and 27-year-old Aaron Anthony Zelonis. Both men were charged with Murder. The father was booked into the county jail on a $750,000 bond. The son was booked on a $1-million bond.
In early July 2018, the district attorney downgraded the charge against Richard Zelonis to “tampering with evidence.”
In August 16, the 26-year-old Leatherbury was found dead in the desert area near the 12700 block of Dyer in far Northeast El Paso near the Texas-New Mexico state line. At the time, police did not say how Leatherbury died.
El Paso Police failed to explain why the father and son were arrested in connection to the murder. The news release had very limited details. ABC-7 has requested the criminal complaint affidavits to learn more about murder, but the documents have not yet been released.
