Photographer to serve 10 days in jail
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A Cedar City photographer was sentenced Tuesday to serve 10 days in jail and pay more than $5,500 in restitution for shooting out the windows of a rival's studio last fall. Kurtis Leo Leany, 52, must also pay a $1,000 fine, write a letter of apology to the victim and complete an anger-management class as part of a 36-month probation.

In March, Leany pleaded guilty as charged in 5th District Court to one count of third-degree felony criminal mischief.

Leany used a slingshot to damage windows at Studio West Photography five times during a six-week period between Aug. 5 and Sept. 14, according to court documents. He told police he believed owner Karl Hugh was stealing business from him.

But Leany, who owns Zion Photography, later told The Tribune: "I was just in a really bad place; I couldn't see that it was the economy and I instantly blamed [Hugh] because of things in the past."

Leany was caught because Hugh was camped out inside his store with a video camera when the last episode occurred. Minutes after Hugh reported the vandal was in a black pickup, Leany was stopped by police, who found a slingshot, ball bearings and .30-caliber slugs inside his truck.

During a September interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Leany said he became upset with Hugh after the Miss Iron County Pageant switched its business from Leany to Hugh. - Stephen Hunt

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