Transient held in bludgeoning death of Costa Mesa handyman
Police in Costa Mesa have arrested a transient on suspicion of bludgeoning a handyman to death as he worked on renovations at a sober-living home earlier this week.
Police say Christopher Ernest Leovy, 34, of Los Angeles, used a heavy, blunt object to kill John Gerard Kubat, 54, outside the vacant property at 536 Hamilton St. early Monday.
Police said they found the weapon, but declined to say what it is.
Kubat was renovating the three-unit complex in preparation for it reopen as a sober-living home, police said.
“The guy shows up for work. Obviously there was some confrontation that took place for whatever reason,” Costa Mesa Lt. Paul Dondero said. “And somebody didn’t like that confrontation and got the better hand.”
A representative of the sober-living facility showed up later Monday morning to check on Kubat’s work and found his body in the property’s gated driveway, police said.
Dondero said detectives haven’t located any witnesses and that there was no known previous connection between Leovy and Kubat.
Leovy had occasional brushes with law enforcement after he arrived in Costa Mesa from Los Angeles sometime early this year.
He was cited for being present in a park after dark and for falsely representing himself to a police officer, a misdemeanor, according to Orange County Superior Court records.
Leovy recently spent about two weeks behind bars, according to jail records, but officials released him Sept. 6, the same day the misdemeanor charge against him was dismissed.
Police said they believe that Leovy was a client at a local sober-living facility before becoming homeless.
On Wednesday evening, Leovy was found in Wilson Park, but he ran and struggled with officers when they caught up with him, according to police.
Officers took him into custody on suspicion of assaulting a peace officer and later booked him on suspicion of murder, police said.
Leovy is being held in Orange County Jail in lieu of $1-million bail.
The department has encouraged anyone with more information on the matter to call Det. Sgt. Ed Everett at (714) 754-5395 or Det. Bang Le at (714) 754-5361.
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Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck
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