May 28, 2003 By Jennifer Harr 2 min read

A former South Connellsville police officer pleaded no contest to assaulting and intimidating a 13-year-old witness while he was working for the department. Daniel “Bert” Leasher, 34, of 113 Reagan Road, Mount Pleasant, will receive probation under a plea deal offered by the state attorney general’s office. The no contest plea means that Leasher neither admits nor denies committing the charges of simple assault, official oppression and retaliation against a witness.

Leasher, according to court documents, believed the youngster saw him assault a man he had arrested in March 2001.

Authorities allege that Leasher told William Poli to go inside on March 18, 2001, when the teen apparently saw Leasher looking at his hand in the headlight of the police car after reportedly roughing up Michael Adams.

Leasher and officer Joe Lane reportedly went to a Pittsburgh Street apartment in Connellsville to arrest Adams for something that had happened earlier in the evening. Leasher and Adams fought, and Leasher eventually used Mace to subdue Adams.

Outside, Leasher allegedly hit Adams, who was handcuffed.

As a guard at the child’s school, Leasher allegedly removed Poli from his classroom once between March and September 2001, and pushed the teen into a door, causing a bruise on his head.

Poli’s teacher, Colleen Kostelnik, testified at Leasher’s preliminary hearing that she never summoned Leasher to her classroom. She also testified that on the day Leasher took Poli out of class, he had been behaving.

Fayette County Judge Ralph C. Warman, who accepted the plea, will sentence Leasher at a later date.