Moscow man sentenced for domestic battery

A Moscow man who was charged with second-degree murder for a 2007 shooting death was sentenced this week for a domestic violence charge in Latah County District Court.

James Curtis Leonard, 40, was sentenced for a felony domestic battery charge and a misdemeanor battery charge. Judge John Judge sentenced him to three years of probation, as well as counseling and treatment for domestic violence, substance use and mental health.

Leonard was arrested in December after he allegedly struck and injured a woman and a juvenile girl at a residence on Palouse River Drive. The two females were transported to Gritman for their injuries.

Leonard was sentenced to 15 years in prison in May 2009 for shooting 25-year-old Moscow man Tyler Pace Lee in 2007. The shooting occurred during an argument at Leonard’s home near Genesee. He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Leonard was later granted probation of 15 years after he received a recommendation of probation from the Idaho Department of Corrections based on his work at the North Idaho Correctional Institution in Cottonwood.

At the time, Prosecutor Bill Thompson argued against Judge Jeff Brudie 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, according to previous Daily News reports.