{"id":1974,"date":"2026-06-13T04:10:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T04:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1974"},"modified":"2026-06-13T04:10:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T04:10:20","slug":"former-prescott-officer-guilty-of-manslaughter-after-shooting-unarmed-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1974","title":{"rendered":"Former Prescott officer guilty of manslaughter after shooting unarmed man"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PRESCOTT, AZ (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 A jury has found a former police officer guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of an unarmed man two years ago in Prescott.<\/p>\n

Read more Rep. Grijalva demands release of Tucson DACA recipient accused of theft, shoplifting<\/a><\/p>\n

Brian Sutton, 27, a former Prescott police officer, was convicted Friday in the deadly shooting of 34-year-old Daniel Leslie.<\/p>\n

The jury deliberated for about 6 hours before reaching a unanimous guilty verdict, according to Richard Lyons, the attorney representing Leslie\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

There were a lot of supporters in the courtroom for Sutton, who were shocked and devastated by the outcome.<\/p>\n

While Lyons believes it is a difficult situation on both sides, he said Leslie was ultimately innocent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Leslies lost a son, they lost a brother, and there\u2019s no joy at all to be had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On the morning of June 7, 2024, Prescott police responded to a home on Sycamore Drive after reports that Leslie had threatened his girlfriend and tried to break down the door of an RV where she was staying. Leslie ran away before officers arrived and was later spotted in a car, then fled again.<\/p>\n

Two officers, including Sutton, returned to the neighborhood the next day to look for Leslie. As the other officer went around to the back of the house, Sutton spotted Leslie in the carport.<\/p>\n

Body camera video shows Sutton trying to convince Leslie to come to him, but Leslie refuses and tells him to leave his property.<\/p>\n

Sutton then points his handgun toward Leslie, ordering Leslie to step toward him.<\/p>\n

Read more Jury finds man guilty in vigilante case<\/a><\/p>\n

As Leslie begins running inside, Sutton opens fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this case, the body cam was so visibly a wrongful shot, an unconstitutional, unlawful killing,\u201d Lyons said.<\/p>\n

Leslie was wounded and found lying on the kitchen floor as other officers cleared the area. He was taken to an area hospital, then flown to Phoenix, where he later died.<\/p>\n

The shooting was investigated by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which determined later that year that Leslie was unarmed and recommended charges. Sutton was placed on administrative leave.<\/p>\n

Sutton had only been on the job for six months at the time of the shooting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Prescott PD, and the sergeants, and decision makers who left him alone there should be ashamed of themselves because I think what they did had a significant part in the conviction,\u201d Lyons said. <\/p>\n

To avoid any conflict of interest in Yavapai County, the case was submitted to the Maricopa County Attorney\u2019s Office for review.<\/p>\n

In May 2025, Sutton was charged with one felony count of manslaughter. Police at the time confirmed that he was no longer employed by the City of Prescott.<\/p>\n

Sutton\u2019s trial began on Monday, and lasted five days.<\/p>\n

Sutton is set to be sentenced on Aug. 3 and he is facing seven to 21 years in prisoin.<\/p>\n

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? <\/i>Please click here to report it<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send <\/i>it to us here<\/i> with a brief description.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more LIST: Sandbag locations across southern Arizona<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A jury has found a former police officer guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of an unarmed man two years ago in Prescott.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Prescott officer guilty of manslaughter after shooting unarmed man - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1974\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Prescott officer guilty of manslaughter after shooting unarmed man - 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