four times in my stomach. three times in my pelvic. a shot in my hip. leonardis has pled not guilty to an array of charges, including three counts of attempted murder. there has been speculation he was attempting suicide by cop. leonardis acknowledges having felt suicidal prior to being shot. i didn t want to live before. i didn t want to be here. i didn t like here. here was not a good place for me. i was overwhelmed with a lot of things going on in my life. but now i don t feel that way. i m just happy that i m alive. just when you get shot so many times and you see your life flash in front of you, you think about you appreciate your life more. i appreciate my life a lot more now.
it s something i don t know. something spiritually must have happened the day i got shot. leonardis agreed to be interviewed only in the presence of his attorney, vinny basille. what kind of time are you facing with these charges? i d rather address that. his case is not indicted yet. it s purely under investigation by the prosecutor s office. the legal process hasn t gone forward with the normal speed due to his injuries. why did you take this case, vinnie? it s going to be a tough case. i ve had many difficult cases through the years. but there was something about it. i knew he was a troubled young man and had not led an exemplary life. i know his family. he s a fortunate young man for a wonderful family. there was never a question to take the kid or not as difficult as it may be. i m grateful i have the best lawyer in town, in the state of new jersey. it could be months or years before leonardis case is resolved in court.
the gunman has been identified as robert leonardis. he s in the hospital in critical condition tonight. robert leonardis has been charged with several crimes. the most serious, three counts of attempted murder. face the camera and don t move. stark was not arrested for any direct involvement in the shooting but because he owned the unregistered handgun that leonardis used to shoot at police. he says he s a good friend and had taken the weapon without him knowing it. he had came over my house and we were hanging out that night and he had this thought in his head that he wanted to kill himself. basically take his own life. i talked to him about this is not his last chance. there are things he can do to better his life. but that night he was over my house, he took my gun. basically how it got from my possession to his possession.
i hate that they shoot at regular people but now they re shooting at cops. their status is greater than what it would have been if they would shot one of their homeys on the street. two other connections say they will trade their current status for freedom in a heart beat. one of them, sean stark, has just run into an old friend here. the hackensack? the shooting. that was the gun? yeah. holy [ bleep ]. are you serious? where did it go down? stark wasn t involved in the shooting but is charged with possession of a handgun while committing a crime because he owned the gun that leonardis allegedly used to shoot at
and due to the nature of his charges, robert leonardis reputation has preceded him. at the end of the day, a fellow officer got shot at, it sticks with you. you re going to look at that guy differently than a guy that s here for a parking ticket. any crime involving law enforcement, we take a little more personally. especially when someone s being shot at. you have to put your emotions aside. you can t let your emotions dictate what you do. so i mean, yeah, you think about it. it affects you. you still have a job to do at the end. one month earlier, leonardis was out on bail for a prior aggravated assault charge. police say he shot at three hackensack officers who fired back, hitting leonardis 14 times. a shot in my hand. shot in my arm. i m still healing up, going through a lot of pain and problems. i had open wounds. i still do.