What began as a regular arrest Monday changed course when Douglas County police encountered resistance and a subsequent suicide in a Baldwin City home.
“It was just a routine assignment, but in law enforcement, there is no routine call,” Baldwin City Police Chief Mike McKenna said.
Leonard Ray Collins, 40, died while being transported to the University of Kansas Medical Center for a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, Douglas County Sheriff Ken McGovern said Tuesday at a press conference at the Douglas County Judicial Building in Lawrence.
Collins had five felony warrants for bogus checks looming in Pottawatomie County, Okla., when he moved to Baldwin City in August with his wife and two daughters, 10 and 15.
At 10:55 p.m., an officer from the Baldwin City Police Department called for assistance to make the arrest at Collins’ home at 315 Fourth St.
“We had been told that there would be probably several people in the house,” McKenna said.
One Baldwin City officer, two sheriff’s deputies and one sheriff’s supervisor accompanied the process server shortly after 11 p.m.,
McKenna said the late hour wasn’t out of the ordinary for such arrests.
“Once a warrant is issued, a warrant can be served any time, day or night, any day of the week,” he said. “In this instance, it just so happened that the first time that the process server had contacted us was shortly before 11 p.m. Monday night.”
Upon arrival, police recognized Collins in his front yard. Collins then ran into the house.
After approaching the house, police were met by Collins’ wife, who told them there were no weapons in the residence. Collins’ wife and children were removed from the residence before two policemen searched the house to find a locked bathroom door.
When the officer knocked, Collins responded with “hold on a sec.” A single gunshot was then heard, McKenna said. After police officers forced the door open, Collins was found alone with a single gunshot to the head.
Collins died en route to the Kansas City, Mo. hospital and was then transported to the Shawnee County Coroner’s Officer for examination and an autopsy, McKenna said.
McKenna said the county sheriff’s office is investigating two of the officers involved in the arrest to ensure proper procedure was followed.
McKenna said he is not sure what Collins’ family will do now, but he said he sympathizes with anyone who suffered from the confusing ordeal.
“We may never know what drove Mr. Collins to this act of placing a gun to his head. I want to stress that suicide, in my opinion, is a permanent answer to a short-term problem. We regret that Mr. Collins saw no other way out of the situation than to end his life,” McKenna said. “Our sympathy goes out to his family and friends.”
Baldwin City Mayor Gary Walbridge said he is not concerned with the level of the town’s safety after the community’s second highly publicized incident involving domestic gun-related deaths in the last year.
“For the general safety of the community, I don’t think there are any concerns. We’ve had some unfortunate, coincidental accidents,” Walbridge said. “It’s pretty ironic that a town our size makes its way into the media so frequently. It’s normal that you get a lot of negative press but not much of the positive. It’s just those things that catch the attention of the Kansas City news media.”