This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A man who was shot and wounded by police inside an Ogden restaurant in November is now facing federal drug charges that could land him in prison for life.
Leonard Russell Marion, 36, was initially charged in Ogden's 2nd District Court with first-degree felony aggravated attempted murder for allegedly shooting at the officers who were trying to arrest him inside Lee's Mongolian Bar-B-Q, at 2866 S. Washington Blvd. He was also facing felony drug and weapons offenses.
But Weber County prosecutors opted to dismiss that case and another drug case last Friday, and instead filed a case against Marion in U.S. District Court, charging him with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, being a felon in possession of a firearm and being in possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense.
Marion, dressed in an orange jumpsuit and wearing a back brace, made his first appearance in Judge Brook Wells' federal courtroom Monday. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, and a five-day trial was scheduled to begin July 21.
Deputy Weber County Attorney Branden Miles — who is prosecuting the case in federal court — said Monday that they had "always been evaluating" Marion's case and whether it should be bumped into the federal court system. He said they chose to prosecute federally because, if convicted, Marion faces a much harsher punishment.
Miles said that because of Marion's previous criminal history, he could face a maximum penalty of life in federal prison without parole for one of the drug charges. The prosecutor said that charge stems from allegations that Marion had 3/4 pound of methamphetamine in his possession in the days before the Nov. 20 shootout with police.
Miles said this is a "greater penalty" than the five-years-to-life sentence Marion faced if convicted of attempted aggravated murder in district court, and would hold the alleged drug dealer more accountable for his crimes.
On Nov. 20, agents from Weber Morgan Narcotics Strike Force were looking for Marion to arrest him for an incident three days earlier, where he fled from police, according to charging documents filed in district court. Police later located his car and found nearly a pound of meth inside, Miles said.
Agents became aware that Marion was at the Ogden restaurant and went there at about 8 p.m. to arrest him, according to charges.
As Marion was leaving the restaurant, agents informed him that he was under arrest and attempted to take him into custody.
Marion fought with the two officers, pulled a .45-caliber handgun from his waistband and fired one shot at the officers, according to charges.
An officer returned fire and Marion was struck three times. Marion was taken to McKay-Dee Hospital's Intensive Care Unit in critical condition. No one else was injured in the shootout.
Approximately 20 grams of methamphetamine was found in Marion's right front pocket, according to charges.
Utah court records show Marion has a criminal history going back to 2002 that includes convictions on numerous drug possession and distribution counts, theft, firearms violations and criminal trespassing.
At the time of the shooting episode, Marion was awaiting a court appearance on another case, where he was accused of drug distribution and exposing a child to a controlled substance, but that case was later dismissed after the investigating strike force agent was himself charged with drug crimes.
The former agent, Don Henry Johnson, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of distribution of a controlled substance, and is expected in 2nd District Court for a pre-trial conference on June 3. Johnson is accused of twice soliciting a police informant to make drug buys that were not authorized by the strike force.
jmiller@sltrib.com Twitter: @jm_miller