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 Matthew Minard / Reporter-News Kris Leija addresses the media after his bail hearing at the Taylor County Courthouse on Thursday. |
| Abilene Reporter News |
| URL: http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_1928988,00.html |
By Sidney Levesque / Reporter-News Staff Writer
May 1, 2003
Sunday was not the first time Kris Leija rushed to a fiery building to rescue its occupants.
Unlike last time, however, his rescue of four small children from the 21/21 Apartments has garnered national attention plus a label authorities added Wednesday — arson suspect. Leija denies he started the fire that consumed the complex.
People who know the short, pony-tailed 22-year-old, whose name is pronounced "Lay-ha," say he would not and could not have started the fire. They say he is, in fact, the hometown hero lauded nationwide for rescuing the children.
"He’s not a criminal," said Precilla Estrada, a 21-year-old cousin of Leija. "He’s a good-hearted person."
He has, however, suffered his share of setbacks and stumbles, ranging from a recent breakup with a girlfriend to scrapes with the law. Before spiriting the children from a burning building, the only pattern to Leija’s life seemed to be aimlessness marked by few successes.
Even so, he has twice played the hero during a blaze.
Estrada remembers that a group of people were socializing at a residence on Aug. 16 when they realized a nearby duplex in the 1800 block of North 6th Street, three blocks from the 21/21 Apartments, was on fire. Leija rushed over.
Abilene Fire Department records show that he cut his arm attempting to rouse the home’s occupants, breaking a window when he found the door locked. The blaze was caused when a child accidentally set a couch on the porch on fire, according to a fire report.
Flash forward eight months, and Leija again found himself responding to a fire. He said he happened upon the blaze at the 21/21 Apartments about 3:30 a.m. Sunday.
He has told different accounts of his mode of transportation that night — walking, biking, driving. He has also offered different versions of why he was in the area. At one point, he said he was driving to a relative’s house. Another time, he said he was on his way to get a soda.
The inconsistencies have raised investigators’ suspicion. They have offered no details on why he is a suspect.
Downfall
Leija said he stopped when he saw people running from the burning complex.
He said he ran into the fire three times. Firefighters were screaming at him to stop, he said, but he ran in and picked up a baby. As he was leaving, he said, two small children grabbed his arms and all of them escaped.
Outside the burning building, Leija handed the baby to a paramedic and dashed back in, this time returning with another baby.
"Kris kind of threw the kids at us and said, ‘There’s a baby,’" and then ran back into the fire to try to rescue the baby, said Ruth Ridder, who lives nearby. She said Leija soon returned carrying a car seat with the baby in it. She assumed he was a father living at the complex and was rescuing his own children.
Leija said he went back into the fire a third time but found no one else to rescue.
About 70 families were left homeless by the fire, which started shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday. No one was killed or seriously injured, but the 80-unit complex was destroyed.
Leija was arrested Monday by Taylor County sheriff’s deputies on a probation violation after a press conference about his rescue efforts. He was on probation for a felony conviction for the July 20 burglary of Abilene High School, which he once attended.
Leija and a girl broke a window in a door to the school to get in on a Saturday afternoon, according to a police report. Once in, they vandalized items in the building.
The two were observed by officers until they gave themselves up after they heard a K-9 officer’s dog bark, according to the police report. Leija suffered cuts on his hands from breaking the glass, the report said. Both were arrested.
He failed to live up to the terms of a court supervised release program, failing to report to authorities. He was arrested in September. A month later, authorities said, he left home and his ankle monitor was cut off.
Leija pleaded guilty March 21 to the burglary and was sentenced to 20 months in a state jail, a term that was reduced to four years probation.
An arrest warrant was issued for Leija after a motion to revoke his probation was filed April 15 in the 104th District Court. He was cited for failing to report to his supervision officer March 22, the day after his guilty plea, and again on April 9.
Sheriff’s officials faced a barrage of criticism from people outraged by his arrest Monday for violating his probation. Family members were among them.
"I don’t think it was right, what they did to him," said his grandfather, Faustino Leija, 68, of Abilene. "He risked his life to save four kids."
Kris Leija said he knew about the warrant for his arrest and is embarrassed about his past. Leija said he did not report for probation because he could not provide a permanent address to probation officers.
"I thought he was living with friends," Faustino Leija said. "I didn’t know he was on the streets."
Faustino Leija said he would let his grandson live with him if he needs a place to stay. He last saw Kris Leija last week, when his grandson bicycled to his home and his 66-year-old grandmother fixed him a meal. Leija told his grandparents he needed a job so he could pay bond fees.
Flawed hero
A probation supervisor testified Wednesday that the young man has no history of steady work, but a record of substance abuse, including a 1999 conviction for driving while intoxicated. He has never been convicted of a violent crime.
Neither did he ever enjoy academic success.
For a while, Kris Leija attended Merkel High School. His mother, Janie Ochoa, said he dropped out of high school in the 11th grade.
Laura Blassingame, Merkel High School’s principal, said he attended the school only a short time.
"He was only in school here for a month and then went to Abilene," she said. "... So as far as teachers commenting on him, no takers."
Leija attended Abilene High School from 1996 to 1998, according to Abilene Independent School District records. They have no other records on him beyond that, said Joe Humphrey, a deputy superintendent.
After dropping out of school, Ochoa said, her son did oilfield and roofing work for a while. In addition to the burglary charge and arrest for probation violation, she said Leija recently suffered a blow to his love life when his girlfriend left him and moved out of state.
His grandfather, Faustino Leija, called his grandson a "good boy" who fell in with bad people. Perhaps that’s because his family ties seem tenuous.
His father, Joe Leija, died in 1992. Kris Leija and his mother do not seem to get along, according to people who know them.
Leija and his brothers went to live with a great-uncle and his wife, who lived in the trucking burg of Tye, Faustino Leija said. Eventually, Faustino Leija’s brother, now 81, became too frail to care for his great-nephews and now lives in an Abilene nursing home. He did not respond to a request for an interview Wednesday.
Leija went home with his mother after his bond hearing Wednesday. She told the court her son could live with her until he got back on his feet, and that her husband has talked to his employer about finding Leija a job in the oil fields.
Ochoa said she is surprised authorities said during Wednesday’s bond hearing that he is a suspect in the apartment fire. Fire investigators are looking at other suspects as well.
"Who in their right mind would enter a burning building and risk their own life?" she asked. "He’s still a hero."
Contact staff writer Sidney Levesque at levesques@reporternews.com or 325-676-6721
Copyright 2003, Abilene Reporter News. All Rights Reserved.
