Barney Creator's Son Sentenced to Prison for Shooting Malibu Neighbor

A son of the creator of the children’s character “Barney” was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for shooting and wounding his neighbor after an argument in January 2013.

Patrick Kearns Leach, 29, of Malibu, pleaded no contest May 28 to one count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and shooting from a motor vehicle.

Leach also admitted allegations of causing great bodily injury, discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury and discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle causing great bodily injury, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Leach was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, but showed up in a Van Nuys courtroom a day early, according to Ricardo Santiago of the District Attorney’s Office.

The charges stemmed from the Jan. 9, 2013, shooting of a neighbor after Leach drove on to the neighbor’s property and honked his vehicle’s horn, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

An argument ensued after the man came outside and Leach accused the man of trespassing, said Deputy District Attorney Brenda Lee.

Leach fired several rounds from a semiautomatic firearm, striking the neighbor once in the chest, according to the deputy district attorney.

Leach fled the scene in his vehicle and was pulled over later by law enforcement officers, who found him wearing body armor with weapons inside the car, Lee said.

City News Service