FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—June 2, 2015

Brevard Grand Jury Issues First-Degree

Felony Murder Indictment in Titusville Arson Case

The Brevard County Grand Jury issued a first-degree felony murder and arson indictment today (June 2, 2015) in connection with the May 5 death of Jeremy Pileggi, 27. The jury returned the indictment against Don Lyle Leach, 56, a homeless man who, like Pileggi, frequented the streets of Titusville.

The indictment charges Leach with deliberately setting fire to an abandoned and boarded-up house at 19 North Park Avenue, Titusville, where the victim was located. The fire trapped the victim inside the dwelling.

Assistant State Attorney Michael Hunt presented five witnesses to the grand jury. The panel heard from the Brevard County Medical Examiner, a Titusville Police Department detective, a state fire marshal investigator, and two lay witnesses before they began their deliberations and returned the indictment.

Titusville Police arrested Leach on May 5, and he has been held without bond at the Brevard County Jail since then. He is scheduled for a first appearance on the indictment tomorrow (Wednesday, June 3).