[B]URLINGTON — A South Burlington man accused of killing his girlfriend earlier this month and who has been on the run since called his attorney 11 days after the fatal shooting, and the lawyer urged him to turn himself in, according to court documents.
However, Leroy Headley didn’t take that advice, and remains on the run.
Earlier this month a warrant was issued charging Headley, 36, with second-degree murder in the shooting death of his 33-year-old girlfriend, Anako Lumumba, on May 3. Police say Headley killed Lumumba in a South Burlington house they shared.
Police have been searching for Headley ever since, to no avail.
Information about the phone call Headley placed to his attorney, Richard Goldsborough of South Burlington, is contained in records related to search warrants filed in the case in Chittenden County Superior criminal court.
The Burlington Free Press first reported on the phone call information from the documents.
South Burlington Police Detective Chris Bataille wrote in an affidavit that at 6:30 p.m. on May 14, Chittenden County Deputy State’s Attorney Justin Jiron called him reporting that he had received a phone call from Goldsborough, who represents Headley in a separate criminal case.
Jiron told the detective that Goldsborough reported to him that Headley had contacted him, with Headley telling him he was in New York state, the affidavit stated.
“Atty. Goldsborough advised he had encouraged Headley to turn himself in, and he believed Headley would do so,” the detective wrote in the affidavit.
After speaking with Jiron, Bataille called Goldsborough, and the attorney reported that he had no additional information other than what he told Jiron, according to the affidavit.
The next day, with Headley still not turning himself in, the detective called Goldsborough again, and the attorney said he had tried to locate the number Headley called him from but was unsuccessful.
“Atty. Goldsborough advised he spoke with his secretary, who stated the number Headley called from showed as ‘Out of Area’ on the caller ID,” Bataille wrote. “Atty. Goldsborough advised he asked Headley for his phone number, and Headley advised he was calling from ‘someone’s phone.’”
Goldsborough could not be reached Friday for comment.
Goldsborough is listed on court documents as Headley’s attorney in a sex case. In that case, which was filed last year and remains pending, Headley is accused of sexually assaulting two 13-year-old girls.
Headley had been freed on conditions in that case, and a warrant in the matter has also since been issued for his arrest.
News of the phone call from Headley to his attorney comes on the heels of the police reporting Thursday that his vehicle, a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder, was found parked on street in Albany, New York, on May 18.
Police had been searching for Headley’s SUV, but said they delayed letting the public know they found it so that “our law enforcement partners had the opportunity to conduct a thorough search of the area in Albany” to try to find Headley.
Police are also not saying, what, if anything, they found in the vehicle.
South Burlington Police Chief Trevor Whipple said Thursday that there were no reported sightings of Headley in Albany.
Police say Headley is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees him is asked by police to call 911 and report the sighting.
Also, anyone with information about the case is urged by police to call the South Burlington Police Department Tip Line at (802) 598-3528.
