A man identified as being from Rochester when arrested has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for fatally stabbing a Penn Yan truck driver who had taken him in off the side of a road about a month earlier, fed him, and made sure he had shelter. Richard Leo, now 37, admitted in Monroe County Court to killing 40-year-old Daniel Fiero inside a room at the Extended Stay America on Commons Way on January 31, 2026.
Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the motel at 2:52 p.m. that day after a 911 caller reported an active dispute inside a room, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies found Leo covered in blood and Fiero dead from multiple stab wounds. Leo was detained at the scene and interviewed at the MCSO B-Zone Substation before being charged, the sheriff’s office said.
Monroe County prosecutors say the violence followed an extraordinary act of kindness. According to 13WHAM-TV, Fiero found Leo walking alongside a road in the cold in December 2025, about a month before the killing, offered him a ride, and learned he was a homeless veteran. Fiero then made sure Leo had food and a place to stay for the following month, eventually bringing him to the Henrietta Extended Stay America.
Prosecutors Describe Kindness Repaid With Violence
Assistant District Attorney Patrick Gallagher said Fiero was compassionate and generous toward a stranger in need, and that Leo repaid that kindness with violence, per 13WHAM-TV’s reporting. Monroe County District Attorney Brian Green said Fiero lost his life while helping someone in need. Prosecutors say Leo attacked Fiero out of anger, and that Fiero died from extreme injuries to his head and face along with multiple stab wounds, according to the district attorney’s release cited by the station…