POSTED: Friday, August 10, 2012 -- 11:25 a.m.

From the Madison Police Department:

Incident Type
Arrested Person

Incident Date
08/08/2012 - 2:16 AM

Address
500 State Street

Suspect(s)
Arrested
Matthew Leonard, 24-year-old male of Madison, WI
Charges: Battery (2 counts) & Probation Violation

Victim
21-year-old male of Madison, WI
&
24-year-old female of Madison, WI

Details
On 8/8/2012, at approximately 2:16 am, Madison Police contacted a 24-year-old female and a 21-year-old male (brother and sister), who were battered near the 500 block of State Street by a male subject wearing all black with face piercings. The victims stated they saw a lot of police activity (lights/sirens) in the area, and noticed a male, (later identified as Matthew Leonard), running down the street. They made a comment about Leonard eluding police, and he allegedly took issue with the overheard comment, punching the female in the face 3-5 times. Leonard was then temporarily subdued by the female’s brother and friends, but Leonard managed to break away and flee the area.

Madison Police obtained a description, and located a shirtless Leonard in the 500 block of University Avenue. After the female had been punched, the male victim also stated he had been battered by Leonard as well. Leonard was detained, and gave a very different story of his quest to locate a friend that had been arrested by police. Leonard claimed to be the victim, and when asked if he punched anyone, he stated “I got jumped and I don’t think I was in the wrong.” It did turn out that Leonard’s friend had been arrested, and both were conveyed to the Dane County Jail on very comparable charges.

PO Howard Payne