On a hot and humid Saturday afternoon, July 23, 1988, the life of 26-year-old White male, David R. Payne, a Lewiston police officer, was cut short. Payne was responding to what seemed to be a routine call about a car that had gone off River Road. What began as a seemingly ordinary call quickly escalated into a tragic and fatal encounter.
The man with the disabled vehicle was Nicolo Leone, a career criminal on probation for shooting another man in the face.
Leone, who was also known as Joseph Loveall, was in a stolen vehicle with a stolen. 44 caliber revolver. Before police arrived, he had accidentally shot himself in the leg. When a mail carrier stopped to help, she noticed blood on his clothing and called the police. Fearing arrest for a probation violation, possession of a stolen vehicle, and a stolen gun, Leone fled into the woods when he saw Officer Payne's cruiser approaching.
Payne, the first officer on the scene, pursued Leone into the dense woods. A shootout ensued, and Payne was fatally wounded by shots to the kidney and heart. Responding officers heard the gunfire and joined the pursuit. Payne radioed that the suspect had a gun and that he had been hit. The other officers found Leone and, after a tense standoff, took him into custody. Both Officer Payne and Leone, who was also wounded, were transported to the hospital, where Payne succumbed to his injuries a short time later.
Nicolo Leone was subsequently arrested and, in June 1989, a jury found him guilty of manslaughter in Officer Payne's death and two counts of attempted murder for shooting at the other officers. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Leone died of cancer in 1999 while serving his sentence.
