RICHMOND HILL TRIAL OF BOB LEONARD, JR. – DAY 17
9:07 a.m. – Defense makes motion to throw out some charges on grounds of insufficient evidence: "It's our position that there are no particulars the State has proven, as far as what Bob Leonard did to create an ignition source."
Motion denied.
9:11 a.m. – Joseph Armanno called as witness by the defense.
Armanno enters courtroom handcuffed and in prison garb.
Armanno: "Bob Leonard was a customer of mine. And I knew his brother."
Armanno says he used to own an auto glass shop.
He says he knew Jeremy Bullock, but wouldn't describe him as a friend.
Armanno says neither Bob nor Mark Leonard approached him about selling furniture from the Richmond Hill neighborhood.
Armanno says he was friends with Glen Hultz.
Deputy Prosecutor Mark Hollingsworth: "You occasionally take control of property from other people to sell." Armanno: "I don't think so."
Armanno: "I learned about the explosion the same way everybody else did. I didn't have nothing to do with it. I hadn't had contact with Mark or Bob Leonard for years. If I'd known about it, I would have told somebody. I would have tried to talk them out of it."
9:21 a.m. – Phil Pierle called as witness by the prosecution.
Pierle says he is a member of a number of Indianapolis bands, including the Pierle Brothers Band and The Woomblies.
Pierle says Bob Leonard went to school with his brother.
Pierle was playing a gig at a bar on the south side on Nov. 9, 2012.
Pierle says he saw Bob Leonard at the bar and talked to him that night. The show ran from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Pierle says Bob Leonard sometimes would play with his band: "He jams with us."
Pierle: "The reason it sticks out in my mind is because of the magnitude of what happened here. I remember seeing him on the news and thinking, 'Man, I saw Bob the night before.'"
Pierle says he doesn't know what time it was that he saw Bob Leonard.
9:29 a.m. – Defense rests its case.
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Call 6 Investigator Rafael Sanchez and Senior Digital Correspondent Jordan Fischer will be in Fort Wayne covering the trial every day. Download the RTV6 app to get the latest live blog posts as the proceedings unfold.
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RELATED LINKS | Richmond Hill Special Section | Mark Ray Leonard convicted on all counts
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