Brett Aaron Leary, 43, of Eureka has been charged after allegedly threatening to shoot his neighbor. Leary made the alleged threat on the same day he pleaded guilty to stealing from an organization that supported St. Louis-area veterans, according to a probable-cause statement from the Eureka Police.
The St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Oct. 12 charged Leary with second-degree terrorist threat, a class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison. As of Oct. 17, Leary was being held without bond, according to court records.
The probable-cause statement said Leary threatened to shoot his neighbor on Oct. 11, which was the same day he pleaded guilty to a felony stealing charge for stealing more than $36,000 from the Gateway Warrior Foundation while he served as vice president of the organization that was created to provide service dogs and other services to wounded veterans, court documents said.
On the day of the alleged threat, Eureka Police were called to the 100 block of Hunters Lake Court. Officers were told Leary went to his neighbor’s home with a pistol because the neighbor had been a witness in the stealing case, the report said.
Officers interviewed Leary at his home, and Leary allegedly continued to make threats against his neighbor. Leary had a pistol holstered on his hip while police talked with him, the report said.
While talking to the officers, Leary allegedly said he wanted to talk to the officer who investigated the stealing the case, and he cursed at the officers for “doing this” to him and said, “You know what? It makes me want to shoot somebody,” according to the report.
Leary also allegedly told the officers, “If there is a gunshot that comes from me you all will know. And I’m going to start with that (person) down the street,” the report said.
Eureka Police evacuated homes near Leary’s house for approximately one hour before arresting him. Officers evacuated the homes because they believed Leary had a large number of guns, including high-powered rifles, in his house, the probable-cause statement said.
Leary had been charged in March 2023 for stealing more than $750, a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, court records show.
Leary had been named the vice president of the Gateway Warrior Foundation in 2023 due to “restructuring of the foundation’s leadership.” The foundation was formed in 2014 by a group of military veterans that included Leary’s father, the case’s probable-cause statement said.
After Leary became vice president, the foundation closed a bank account at the Commerce Bank branch in Eureka and opened a new account at the same branch. Leary was made the administrator for the new account, and he had the authority to make online transactions, received a debit card for the account and had checks for the account with his home address printed on them, the report said.
Several months after the new account was opened, the foundation’s treasurer requested to review the account’s bank statements. The statements showed Leary had written checks to himself totaling several thousand dollars and used the debit card to pay personal loans and personal credit card bills, according to the report.
Leary admitted to the foundation’s board that he stole the money, and he wrote a check for $36,716.44 to repay the funds he misused. However, the check was returned for insufficient funds, the report said.
In December 2023, Leary turned himself in to Eureka Police and was charged with felony stealing, according to the report.