Former Lubbock police deputy chief Leath McClure pleads to deadly conduct charge

Former Lubbock police deputy chief Leath McClure is now disqualified from working as a police officer in Texas after he pleaded guilty Friday afternoon to a misdemeanor count of deadly conduct.

McClure, 41, who resigned from the department about a month after his Oct. 19 arrest on two felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of continuous violence against the family, appeared with his attorney, David Guinn, in Lubbock County Court at Law No. 2 where he pleaded to the class A misdemeanor count.

Guinn declined to comment after the plea hearing.

He admitted to placing a woman he was dating in immanent danger of serious bodily injury by pointing a firearm at her.

More: Lubbock deputy police chief resigns from LPD a month after being arrested

As part of his plea, he was placed on deferred adjudication for 18 months and will surrender his Texas peace officer's license. McClure's felony counts were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea.

If he completes his community supervision, the case will be dismissed. However, he faces the entire range of punishment of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine, if the court revokes his deferred adjudication.

A conviction for a class A misdemeanor, even if it's deferred, disqualifies him from obtaining a license, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

The plea deal was negotiated by the Ector County District Attorney's Office, which took over prosecuting McClure after the Lubbock County District Attorney recused from the case.

"The plea offer was extended after careful review of the investigative materials provided and upon approval by the victim in this case," said Ector County Assistant District Attorney Greg Butler in a statement.

McClure had been with the Lubbock Police Department since 2005 and assumed his most recent role this summer. He was placed on administrative leave after his arrest and his resignation was announced Nov. 20.

His charge stems from an investigation that began Oct. 4, after a civilian LPD employee told her supervisor that McClure assaulted her.

More: Investigation into Lubbock deputy police chief reveals steroid abuse, domestic violence

The woman with whom McClure was in a romantic relationship told her supervisor that McClure became angry and pushed her into a wall and doorway at police headquarters before slapping her in the face in early October, prompting a Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit investigation which resulted in an arrest warrant.

According to an affidavit filed with the warrant, McClure and the employee began a romantic relationship in March 2021, shortly after the employee returned to work for the police deportment a second time. McClure, who was a lieutenant in the department's Administration Support Division, was her immediate supervisor at the time.

In February 2022, McClure was promoted to captain and remained a part of the employee's chain of command until August 2023, when he was promoted to deputy chief to oversee the East Patrol Division Station in the 1900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The employee described a deteriorating professional and personal relationship with McClure punctuated with physical and verbal abuse. She said she believed McClure's steroid use contributed to his behavior, the affidavit states.

McClure's alleged abuse escalated when he learned of the employee's prior romantic relationship with another police officer, called her derogatory names and forced her to resign. The employee ultimately handed in her resignation, but withdrew it and continued working for the police department.

The employee told investigators the first episode of physical abuse happened in December 2022. She said she was with her mother at the time when he called her. She described McClure as livid and said he told her to meet him at her apartment where he told her she deserved to be beat by him.

She said McClure slapped her across her left cheek.

In February, the employee told investigators McClure was in her apartment and appeared suicidal and upset with her, but she couldn't recall why.

As they sat in her living room, she said McClure took out his gun and threatened to shoot himself. However, he also pointed the weapon at her head and threatened to shoot her. She said he put their heads together in a way that made her believe he would shoot both of them at the same time, the warrant states.

More: Lubbock police deputy chief McClure arrested, accused of aggravated assault, family violence

Two weeks later, on March 8, she said McClure confronted her at her apartment about her previous relationship. She said she apologized to McClure but he slapped her and pushed her into a door, causing her to strike the doorknob and slide hard onto the floor.

She said McClure, who was wearing his police badge at the time, grabbed her by the throat as she got up, ordered her to sit on a dining room chair and pressed his service weapon to her head and threatened to shoot her if he didn't tell him the truth, the warrant states.

She told investigators she thought she was about to die.

However, the two returned to work for a meeting during which McClure continued to send her text messages berating her.

The employee said in every episode of abuse she calmed down McClure and deescalated the situation.

Investigators found evidence and corroborating statements of McClure's threats to the employee, the warrant states.

Investigators also searched McClure's city-issued vehicle and found a black backpack containing an unlabeled plastic bottle that held 17 pills believed to be tramadol hydrochloride, an opioid used to treat severe pain, and one pill believed to be a generic version of the anti-anxiety medication Xanax, the warrant states.

McClure was arrested and booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center with a bond set at $500,000. A week later, Judge Douglas Freitag in the 140th District Court signed an order lowering McClure's bond to $100,000.

McClure was able to bond out and was released from jail but has a two-year protective order that prohibits him from contacting the victim in the case against him or possessing a firearm. He is also required to complete an 8-hour domestic violence course, which he did on Nov. 30, according to court records.

More: Deputy LPD chief facing felony assault charges seeks reduced bond

After McClure's sentence was announced, the woman confronted him as she gave her victim impact statement in a courtroom packed with Lubbock police personnel.

McClure sat quietly as the woman, who asked not to be identified, told him that she reported his abuse not to hurt him or interfere with his career, but to escape his control, which lingered during the ensuing investigation.

She said even as she spoke with detectives she remained protective of him.

"In fact, if anyone saw that first interview with (the detectives), I'm sure they would be taken aback at how angry and combative I was," she said. "Which is ironic, right? Because it would seem pretty straight-forward that the victim would be searching for a way out of an abusive situation. But here's the thing: I wasn't at the time … and the lack of understanding and action in and of itself is a testament to just how much you had brainwashed me."

She said it took help from her friends, family and co-workers to free her of his influence.

She told McClure that her love for him didn't outweigh her desire for justice.

"No matter how many times you've told people I'm crazy, or that I'm lying, what I know now is that you were the one who was lying. To me. To everyone. To yourself."

She said the fear he used to control her all but trapped her in her home, unable to run simple errands or meet friends without asking his permission.

She said she now realizes that had she stayed with him, she would likely end up dead.

"Because the truth is, the things you did to me were not love," she said. "And now, I want you to know I am not the vile, disgusting things you said I am. I am much more than a thing or a possession to control. I am a person who loves fiercely, cares deeply and is loyal without end. I am strong, independently of you."

She told McClure, who at times she referred to by the nickname, "Lethal," to think of this situation as a chance to become a better person and free himself of the steroid use that caused him to spiral out of control.

"The truth is I lost the Leath I knew and loved a long time ago," she said. "You were spiraling. You just couldn't see it. You were so strung out on that poison, it turned you into a different person. I know this with every fiber of my being because the people who know you and who love you, they saw it too. They just didn't know what was going on."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Former Lubbock police deputy chief pleads to deadly conduct charge