James Leonard granted probation

James Curtis Leonard was granted probation Wednesday for the 2007 shooting death of Tyler Pace Lee.

Leonard pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter last February for shooting Lee, 25, of Moscow multiple times with a handgun and killing him after an argument at Leonard's Sprenger Road home near Genesee.

Second District Judge Jeff Brudie originally sentenced Leonard last May to a term of no less than five years in prison and no more than 15.

Leonard will now face a probation period of 15 years from the date of his original sentencing in May. He soon will be processed and released, then required to report to an assigned probation officer.

Both Brudie and defense attorney Sunil Ramalingam indicated Leonard ultimately would seek to move out of the Moscow/Latah County area while completing the probation.

Brudie retained jurisdiction in order to determine whether Leonard should be eligible for probation upon completion of several state programs at the North Idaho Correctional Institution in Cottonwood, where Leonard was held for the past five months.

Leonard received a recommendation of probation from the Idaho Department of Corrections based on his work at the Cottonwood facility. Brudie said he was not obligated to follow the recommendation but said Leonard had met the requirements placed before him to earn probation.

Leonard was originally charged with voluntary manslaughter in 2007 and entered a plea of not guilty. In May 2008, the state sought a second-degree murder charge as further details of the case emerged. Leonard pleaded not guilty to the second-degree charge in August 2008.

Prior to Brudie's decision, Prosecutor Bill Thompson argued against granting probation. He cited concerns over lack of suitable supervision in Leonard's probation plan and also over what he said seemed to be a lack of remorse over the incident.

"I have to wonder if we are creating a situation that is destined to fail," he said.

Lee's father, Loftin Lee, listened to the proceedings via conference call and also addressed the court. Ultimately his pleas for Leonard to remain incarcerated were not heeded.

"Five months incarceration is not enough punishment for the person who took my son's life," he said.

A soft-spoken, visibly nervous Leonard also made a short statement prior to Brudie's decision and asked Lee's family for forgiveness.

"There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about what happened," he said.

Mark Williams can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 301, or by e-mail at mwilliams@dnews.com.