WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A veteran Winston-Salem police officer who went through a red light and slammed into a truck driven by a 68-year-old man, killing him, has been suspended from the force.
Sgt. John William Leone Jr., 48, pleaded guilty Nov. 18 in Forsyth Superior Court to misdemeanor death by motor vehicle in the death of Alan Edward Dunnagan of Crossgate Road. Judge Fritz Mercer, a special judge brought in from Charlotte, deferred judgment in the case for six months and ordered Leone to perform 200 hours of community service.
Leone has been on administrative duty since May 13, 2015, the day of the crash, pending an internal investigation. In an email Wednesday, Winston-Salem Police Chief Barry Rountree said the internal investigation was closed Jan. 11. Rountree said that the investigation concluded that Leone had violated a policy or procedure of the Winston-Salem Police Department.
“As a result of those findings the appropriate disciplinary action has been taken and Sgt. Leone has been suspended as of January 11, 2016,” Rountree said in the email.
Read more: Winston-Salem Journal