The Ypsilanti Township man accused of murdering his co-worker Bhagavan Allen earlier this month will return to court for a preliminary exam next month.
Leonard Ware
Courtesy of WCSO
Leonard Ware, 34, is charged with open murder, carrying a concealed weapon, being a felon in possession of a firearm and being in possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He appeared in court for a short hearing Tuesday at the 14A-1 District Court in Pittsfield Township.
His attorney, Jeffrey Taylor, told District Court Judge Richard Conlin he had just received evidence in the case and was waiting for more before he could go ahead with the preliminary exam. Conlin agreed to adjourn the case until 1 p.m. Nov. 13.
The preliminary exam will be held at 1 p.m. so the court will not have any other cases on the docket during that time frame.
Bhagavan Allen
From the Facebook profile of Bhagavan Allen
Ware is accused of shooting and killing Allen following a dispute at Marsh Plating Corp., where they both worked. Allen died following the shooting at 4 p.m. Oct. 5 on South Grove Street near South Street.
Police said a dispute about slacking off on the job prompted an argument between Allen and Ware, who was Allen’s supervisor on the line. A physical altercation inside the plant led to an after-work escalation in tensions, police said.
The men were walking on opposite sides of the street, exchanging threats, police said. Allen crossed the street toward Ware, expecting a continuation of the physical fight at the plant, police said.
Ware pulled a .45-caliber handgun and fired two shots at Allen, knocking him to the ground in the street, police said. He then walked over to Allen and stood over him, firing three to four more shots into his body before fleeing, according to police.
Allen died on the way to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. He was 29.
Ware turned himself in at the Ypsilanti police station on Oct. 8, three days after the shooting and was formally arraigned on the charges the next day. He remains at the Washtenaw County Jail and is being held without bond.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.