Deputies find handgun with scratched-off serial number

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, August 4, 2026

A 41-year-old Marysville man is accused of possessing a handgun with a serial number scratched off in June, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Donald J. Leiterman in Island County Superior Court July 31 with unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree, alteration of identifying marks of a firearm, driving while license suspended and violation of ignition interlock requirements.

On June 8, an Island County sheriff’s deputy stopped a car driven by Leiterman in Greenbank. The deputy found that Leiterman’s license was suspended and that he was required to have an ignition interlock device, which he did not have, according to a deputy’s report on the case.

During the stop, a deputy initially believed a handgun was visible on the passenger seat, but it turned out to be a butane lighter shaped like a pistol.

While inventorying the vehicle before it was impounded, deputies found a bandolier containing 12-gauge shotgun shells, according to the deputy’s report. Because Leiterman was prohibited from possessing firearms, they stopped the inventory and obtained a search warrant.

When deputies searched the vehicle, they found a loaded .380-caliber Beretta Pico pistol in a tool bag on the passenger-side floorboard, along with a weapon-mounted flashlight, a torch lighter and the shotgun ammunition, the deputy’s report states.

Investigators also found a small safe containing suspected methamphetamine and fentanyl, according to the report. The substances tested presumptively positive, although the current charges relate only to the firearm and driving offenses, court documents show.