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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spokane undercover detectives cleared by prosecutor in Moran Prarie shooting that injured one

A Spokane police officer on the scene as law enforcement engages a shooting suspect on South Glenrose Road on April 13, 2023, in Spokane.  (Dan Pelle/THESPOKESMAN-REVIEW)

The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office found three undercover detectives who shot and injured a man during a standoff in Moran Prairie last year were justified in their actions.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office detectives Nathan Booth, Kyle Leavenworth and Alex Velikodnyy attempted to arrest 49-year-old Jeremy Bausch at 5509 S. Glenrose Road in April 2023 because they developed probable cause to arrest him for a prior incident.

The officers, who were surveilling Bausch at the time, watched him drive to Safeway and get into a verbal altercation with two employees. He threatened to kill them, got in his car and drove back home, the prosecutor’s office said.

Detectives went to arrest Bausch outside of his house, but he ran into the garage. Leavenworth tried using his car to create a barrier between Bausch and the home so he wouldn’t run inside, the prosecutor’s office said, but Bausch shot at Leavenworth’s car, which forced him to retreat down the street.

Other detectives fired back at Bausch during a three-hour standoff. He was transported to the hospital with injures that weren’t life-threatening, according to previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review. Bausch pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and harassment in connection to the shooting, and was sentenced to five years in community custody.