Bridgeport man accused of spitting at hospital guard

BRIDGEPORT — A local man accused of chasing a terrified couple in his pickup truck on a downtown street, firing multiple shots at them, was charged again after police said he spat on a hospital security guard because he said she is Black.

Police said Leroy Sanchez was taken to Bridgeport Hospital following his arrest March 31 for the chase incident.

While at the hospital, police said, Sanchez allegedly made racial remarks to a Black female security guard and then spat on her.

He was charged with assault on public safety personnel and disorderly conduct.

Earlier that day, the 34year-old Leroy Sanchez, who is on probation for gun and drug convictions, was charged with first-degree assault, criminal possession of a firearm, illegal discharge of a firearm, illegal transfer of a firearm, possession of a large-capacity magazine and possession of narcotics with intent to sell.

Monday afternoon, Sanchez watched his arraignment proceeding on video from the basement lockup of the Golden Hill Street courthouse.

“These are serious allegations and he has a serious criminal record,” Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Tiffany Lockshier told Superior Court Judge Kevin Doyle. She urged him to set a high bond for Sanchez.

The judge agreed that Sanchez could pose a risk to the community and ordered him held in lieu of $520,000 bond. He continued the case to April 20.

Shortly after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Bridgeport police said they got calls of shots being fired from a pickup truck that was chasing a car through the intersection of Fairfield and Park avenues. Police said officers went to the scene and found a spent .40-caliber bullet casing in the roadway.

A short time later, police said ShotSpotter reported multiple gunshots north on Park Avenue. At the same time, police said 911 dispatch received a call from a hysterical woman crying that her car was being fired on by a man in a red pickup truck.

Police said the woman drove her car to the police department and she and her male passenger ran inside.

The pickup truck was stopped by an officer in front of the courthouse on Golden Hill Street, police said. They said the driver, identified as Sanchez, came out of the driver’s door holding a knife but agreed to drop it.

They said he began yelling that he was trying to kill “the Black guy,” a reference to the male passenger in the car he allegedly had been chasing.

Handcuffed, police said Sanchez then began repeatedly banging his head on the roof of a patrol car, denting the car.

During a search, police said they found two bags of cocaine hidden in Sanchez’s groin area. In his truck, police said they found a .40-caliber handgun loaded with an 18-bullet magazine and another magazine containing 12 bullets.

While in booking, police said Sanchez began yelling and screaming and threatening officers. They said he also urinated on the floor. Police said he was taken to the hospital, where he then spat on the guard allegedly because she was Black.