Curtis R. Leachman to stand trial in March for November stabbing in downtown Mount Pleasant

Isabella County Judge Thomas Brookover determined Thursday that Curtis R. Leachman will stand trial following the alleged murder of Tyrone D. Stanley.

Judge Brookover determined probable cause in the Nov. 24 fatal stabbing, ruling sufficient evidence for 25-year-old Leachman to stand trial. He also added a charge of carrying a concealed weapon with unlawful intent.

Defense Attorney Thomas Weiss said the case will be transferred to the Isabella County Circuit Court, 300 N. Main St., in mid-March before Isabella County judge Mark Duthie.

Leachman was lodged in Isabella County Jail on a $1 million bond after being arraigned following the fatal stabbing of Stanley, Central Michigan Life reported Nov. 26.

On Nov. 24, Stanley, a 20-year-old Mount Pleasant man, died from a stab wound at an apartment in the 100 block of S. Main St. around 4 a.m. Stanley was transported to McLaren-Central Michigan Hospital, 1221 S. Drive, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

An autopsy was performed at Spectrum Health Hospital in Grand Rapids, concluding Stanley died from a knife wound to the left lung.

The knife was found at the scene of the crime and used as police evidence.

Leachman, 112 S. Main St., was charged in the Isabella County Trial Court with open murder and witness intimidation, after police say he threatened witnesses outside Stanley’s Main Street apartment, CM Life previously reported.

Leachman alleged he never threatened witnesses.

Weiss said Stanley made numerous threats to Leachman throughout the night, and Leachman acted in self-defense.

“This, unfortunately, happened after a number of confrontations that had gone on for a period of a couple hours throughout the night,” he said.

Open murder carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, while witness intimidation is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The fatal stabbing was Mount Pleasant’s third murder of 2012.

Calls to Isabella County Proseuctor Risa Scully were not returned.