From ttill@freenet.columbus.oh.us Thu Apr 13 20:08:03 1995
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 1995 20:05:44 -0400
From: Thom Till 
Subject: Gopher File

Path: msunews!uwm.edu!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!slip2-6.acs.ohio-state.edu!huffman.79
From: huffman.79@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu (Anon user)
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Subject: "BRUNSWACO" IN BRUNSWICK, OHIO
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 1995 20:50:37
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>From 74634.33@compuserve.com Tue Apr 11 09:16:58 1995
Date: 09 Apr 95 17:04:00 EDT
From: E Pluribus Unum <74634.33@compuserve.com>
To: Dennis Carney 
Cc: Rick Huffman 
Subject: Brunswick Siege

This is a preliminary investigative report, concerning the events of a
police action that took place between the dates of March 31 to April 3,
1995, in Brunswick, Ohio. Information contained within this report, was
obtained from (1) eyewitness accounts, (2) media accounts, (3) law
enforcement personnel, (4) testimony of public officials at the Brunswick
Safety Meeting of April 5, 1995 (5) Pictures we took of the remains of Mr.
Lekan's home (6) Transmissions on police scanners.

                *** Background Information ***

John M. Lekan (pronounced 'lay-ken), 54 lived at 4095 Rolling Hills Dr.
with his wife Beverly, 49 and their son John Jr. aged 9. John Sr. was a
disabled chemical engineer. Beverly Lekan is suffering from Multiple
Sclerosis. The Lekans lived at this address for at least nine years.

All accounts indicate that John Lekan was an eccentric, a Veteran, an NRA
member, a gun owner, a political activist, and a Patriotic American who
had a strong dislike and fear of the government. There is also a
consensus, hat while in his home, he carried a loaded firearm for personal
protection.

Beverly Lekan received care by home health aides employed by the Medina
County Human Services Department. John Lekan, Jr. attended Kidder
Elementary School in Brunswick, Ohio. He was a quiet, well behaved
student, he excelled in math, and interacted well with neighborhood
friends.

                *** Thursday - March 30 ***

John Lekan became angry when his wife advised him that the health care
aides had filed a complaint concerning his firearms habits with a young
child in the house, and told her that the police would probably be
accompanying them upon their next visit. One report said that Lekan
described how he could kill the health aide with just the butt of a gun,
however, there are no reports that Lekan actually threatened to kill or do
harm to anyone. According to Mrs. Lekan, her husband loaded all of his
three firearms that night, and was prepared to fight.

                *** Friday - March 31 ***

* 3:00 pm: Brunswick police officer Sam Puzella, accompanied by an unnamed
  Brunswick detective arrived at the Lekan home.

* Puzella knocked on the door.

* When Lekan refused them entry, Puzella kicked the door in.

* Lekan shot Puzella in the chest.

* 3:30 pm: A MetroHealth helicopter airlifted Puzella from Lekan's
  property.

* 8:30 pm:  Police attempted to rush the home.

* Lekan shot two more police.

* The neighborhood was evacuated within a one-half mile radius.

* Gas, electric, telephone and water service was shut off to the Lekan
  home.

* Fiber-optic cameras were installed on light poles and the interior of
 the Lekan home became visible to the police.

* Street lights were knocked out by police.

* Firehoses were run into the basement, where Lekan and his son had
  retreated, and water was pumped in at approximately 1,000 gallons per
  minute.

* Later that day, four SWAT teams, 300 law enforcement personnel, 200 fire
  fighters, and two Armored Personnel Carriers converged at the Lekan
  home. (*)confirmed by Police Chief Beyer at Brunswick Safety Meeting on
  April 5, 1995

                *** Saturday - April 1, 1995 ***

* 11:00 am: APC breached the garage door, tear gas was inserted.

* APC breached the east wall of the house, tear gas was inserted.

* APC breached the backyard patio doors, tear gas was inserted.

* Later police reports indicated that Lekan and his son died during this
  period.

                *** Sunday - April 2, 1995 ***

* 10:15 am: Police fired tear gas through broken windows and drove an APC
  up to the front bedroom window, which they then entered (located at the
  south-east corner of the house) and emerged moments later with Mrs.
  Lekan.

* Mrs. Lekan's bedroom, is located at the north-east corner of the house,
 separated from the front of the house by two interior walls.

* Brunswick police chief Patrick Beyer later said, "SWAT team members
  reached in and grabbed Beverly Lekan, who was confined to a bed in the
  first-floor bedroom."

* Approximately twelve SWAT team members entered the Lekan home and some
  four hours later emerged with the bodies of Lekan and his son.

* Police chief Beyer stated that the bodies of Mr. Lekan and his son were
  found in the bathroom, partially within the shower stall.

* Medina County coroner Dr. Neil Grabenstetter said both died of single
  gunshot wounds to the head.

* A gas mask and two acetylene tanks of oxygen were said to be found in
  the bathroom.

* A 10-gauge shotgun, a .27 caliber rifle and ammunition for both were
  also said to be found in the bathroom.

* The deaths have been ruled a murder / suicide.


                Additional Information and Observations:
                   Reports heard over police scanners

* Between 8:30 pm Friday and 6:00 am Saturday:  Water was being pumped
  into the basement at over 1,000 gallons per minute to force Lekan and      his
son back up stairs. We walked around the perimeter of the house        four days
later - the ground near the house was still drenched.

* Snipers were given orders to shoot Lekan on sight. One sniper was heard
  saying he had him in his sight and requested permission to shoot, but
  permission was declined, saying "no, not yet".

* "We got the flag, does that mean we won ?"

                *** Wednesday - April 5, 1995: ***

* A Brunswick Safety Meeting was conducted by police chief Beyer.

* J.J. Johnson & Rick Huffman attended the meeting.

* Police chief Beyer stated that the otime-lineoe as reported by the
  Cleveland Plain Dealer, was an accurate representation of the facts
  surrounding the incident.

* Jim Polzner, of Alternative Paths (a contracted service of the Medina
  County Board of Health), stated that  there may have been some
  mis-quoting by the press.

* Polzner said the police action was "awesome".

* Polzner assisted in the negotiations with Lekan and stated that Mr.
  Lekan was babbling, rambling, jumping from one subject to another, and
  sounded very confused.

* Claiming respect for the family, Polzner declined to reveal the content
  of their conversations.

* Our witnesses in Brunswick, who are acquainted with an officer who was
  at the scene of the Lekan siege, say the officer told them that Lekan's
rantings included such phrases as:  "you don't have a warrant" and  "My
  Constitutional rights are being violated".

* The officer also stated that Lekan's unreported request to speak with
  family members was denied.

* J.J. went to the Lekan home with Rick and our Brunswick witnesses after
  the Safety Meeting.

* The house has been moved off of its frame.

* The front door, which we have pictures of, has 24 bullet holes in it -
  they are clearly all entry holes.

* The front door has also been fire damaged from the bottom edge, to about
  6" or 8" up.

* There are no less than 39 bullet holes in the exterior of the house -
  all entry holes.

* There is no evidence of any shots being fired from the interior of the
  home, unless they were shot through the windows, none of which have any
  glass left in them.

* Mr. Lekan's "arsenal" consisted of a shotgun, a rifle with folding
  stock, a handgun, and a gas mask

* Mr. Lekan's flag pole stands bare on the railing of his front porch.


                Additional Observations and Opinions

* The Safety Meeting of April 5th was attended by about 150 neighborhood
  residents and other concerned citizens.

* Comments overheard were:  "Murderers" - "Another Waco" - "Lekan's only
  mistake was having bad aim". Some demanded the resignation of Chief
  Beyer and J.J. overheard two of Lekan's neighbors saying they had
  received threatening phone calls to keep their mouths shut about what
  they saw.

* After the meeting, J.J. walked up to Chief Beyer, shook his hand,
  introduced himself as a member of the unorganized militia, and asked him
  if there was a warrant to enter Lekan's home.

* Chief Beyer withdrew his hand, said "No Comment" and walked away.

* Tony Gilbert, who has previously prosecuted police for Constitutional
  violations, was quoted as saying: "There was no circumstance that
  required an immediate response. No threats were made, no hostages were
  taken, no injuries were received." and "You just can't bust in a door
  because you think somebody may be in danger. You need some probable
  cause."

                                Questions

* Why was Lekan found with a gas mask and two oxygen tanks if he intended
  to commit murder and suicide ?

* The Lekan home is a single-story house with a simple floor plan. Why did
  it take the SWAT team nearly four hours after entering the house to
  locate the bodies ?

* One officer stated that sometime around 11:00 am Saturday, after the
  multiple APC assaults upon the home, he heard "muffled gun shots" and
  believes that is when Lekan killed his son and himself.

* At that time, there was no glass left in any window, including the
  sliding patio doors. There was no garage door and the east side of the
  house (which is where the bodies were found) was torn completely open.
  If Lekan used a shotgun to kill his son and himself, the shots would
  have been extremely loud, not "muffled".

* Why did the SWAT team enter the front bedroom window to retrieve Mrs.
  Lekan, when her bedroom is located at the back of the house and
  separated from the front by two interior walls ?

* Why did Chief Beyer say the SWAT team members reached into the bedroom
  window and pulled her out , when the bedroom she was in is not inside
  the window that she is pictured being extracted from ?

* Why wouldn't Chief Beyer comment on the issue of a search warrant ?

                        Concluding Remarks:

While everyone we spoke with said Mr. Lekan was an "eccentric", an
"odd-ball", and even a "flake",  no one that we have spoken with is of the
opinion that he was a danger to himself or others.

We will never know if Mr. Lekan made the statements to the health care
aide that he was accused of. Assuming he did -  while definitely
inappropriate and even menacing, those statements do not construe a threat
of physical harm. It has not been shown that Lekan _threatened to kill_
her nor has it been demonstrated that Lekan _intended to kill_ her,
therefore there was no probable cause for the multiple violations of his
civil rights.


                          *** April 5, 1995 ***

At Beverly Lekan's request, her husband was burried with his arms around
        John, Jr., who cradled a teddy bear in his arms.


                           One Final Observation

John Lekan, Jr. will never again play on the swing set that stands waiting
                        for him in his backyard

                                *********

E Pluribus Unum ( One Out of Many ) is a Patriot group in central Ohio,
dedicated to restoring the Integrity of the United States Constitution and
                     preserving of  Our Bill of Rights


        ... It is towards that end that this report was written ...




***
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       PINE 3.07       MAIL INDEX       Folder:inbox  Message 8 of 8

    1   Mar 24                     (1,692) Ramtha and Mafu / tapes and catalogue
    2   Apr  5                    (11,473) A Knock At Your Door...Couldn't Happe
    3   Apr 10 Bill Sprague        (1,467) SEORF
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    5   Apr 12                     (2,752) Reason Why The U.S. Dollar Is Plummet
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    7   Apr 13                    (10,281) UK Foster Suicide Story 10 April 1995
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