James Leonard
A Genesee man has been has been granted probation after serving five months of a five to 15 year prison sentence for the shooting death of another man two years ago.
James Leonard pleaded guilty in February to a charge of voluntary manslaughter in connection to the June 19, 2007, death of Tyler Lee at a Genesee-area farmhouse.
Leonard was scheduled to stand trial last March on a second-degree murder charge, but the charge was reduced as part of a plea agreement. Leonard was sentenced in May.
2nd District Judge Jeff Brudie retained jurisdiction over the case, and ruled this week that Leonard had met the conditions for an early release.
Officials say Leonard completed every program offered to him at the North Idaho Correctional Institution in Cottonwood, and was not a disciplinary problem. The Idaho State Department of Correction also recommended his release.
Leonard will still have to serve a 15-year probationary period and will be subject to the highest level of supervision. He will move into a halfway house in Lewiston upon his release and have to find a job.
