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Roberto Leyva Sanchez

Age : 36

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/09/2025

Location : Downtown Yakima

City : Yakima

County : Yakima

State : Washington

Agency : Yakima Police Department

Officer(s) :Chief Shawn Boyle; Lieutenant Ira Cavin; Sergeant R. Scott Grant; Sergeant Jeremy Soptich; Sergeant Patrick Schad; Detective Lukas Hinton; Detective Isaac Ayon; Detective Brock Dunmore; Officer Gonzalo Deloza; Officer Ryan Davis; Officer Michael Campos Jr.; Officer Riley Morin; Officer Drew Kornegay; Officer Josue Rodriguez

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police for undisclosed reasons

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/09/2025, at approximately 2:39 p.m., Yakima Police Department officers responded to the 1200 block of West Washington Avenue after receiving reports of a shooting. Officers found 33-year-old Guadalupe Leyva suffering from fatal gunshot wounds and a 13-year-old boy who had also been shot. Leyva died at the scene, while the boy was transported to MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital and survived. Police identified Leyva's former partner, 36-year-old Roberto Leyva Sanchez, as the man they alleged was responsible for the shooting.
Police began searching for Leyva Sanchez and located a vehicle carrying him at approximately 7:35 p.m. Leyva Sanchez was riding as a passenger while another person drove. Yakima officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver continued driving away while police pursued through downtown Yakima. Officers eventually immobilized the vehicle near East Walnut Avenue and South 3rd Street at approximately 7:39 p.m.
According to the Yakima Valley Special Investigations Unit and Washington State Patrol, Leyva Sanchez allegedly fired a handgun at police after officers stopped the vehicle. Numerous Yakima officers returned fire, striking Leyva Sanchez and killing him. Initial reports stated that a Yakima officer was shot during the exchange and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. A subsequent investigative update clarified that investigators found no evidence that the officer was struck by a bullet fired from Leyva Sanchez's gun, although authorities continued to describe the officer as having been injured by gunfire.
The scale of the police gunfire was substantial. Fourteen Yakima Police Department personnel, including Police Chief Shawn Boyle, were placed on paid administrative leave after firing their weapons during the encounter. The involved personnel were Chief Shawn Boyle, Lt. Ira Cavin, Sgts. R. Scott Grant, Jeremy Soptich and Patrick Schad, Detectives Lukas Hinton, Isaac Ayon and Brock Dunmore, and Officers Gonzalo Deloza, Ryan Davis, Michael Campos Jr., Riley Morin, Drew Kornegay and Josue Rodriguez.
The Yakima Valley Special Investigations Unit opened the independent investigation, with Washington State Patrol serving as the lead investigative agency. Investigators sought witnesses and video recordings of both the shooting and the events immediately preceding it.
Yakima Police also conducted an internal administrative review of its officers' actions. By 09/05/2025, that review had concluded that the officers' actions complied with department policy. All 14 officers, including Boyle, returned to duty. Because Boyle himself had participated in the shooting, the city retained an independent investigator to review his conduct separately; he also returned to duty after that review. The independent Yakima Valley Special Investigations Unit investigation remained separate from those internal administrative reviews and was to be forwarded to the Yakima County Prosecutor for a determination regarding criminal justification.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.yakimapolice.org/
https://wsp.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/YVSIU-OIS-Yakima-Initial-Release.pdf
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/two-people-dead-yakima-homicide-suspect-exchange-fire-with-police/AWENE4JW6VCZDGBB2LMKHBOFUA/
https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/yakima-police-officers-on-leave-after-downtown-shootout/article_8e617b43-eeee-4c9c-9344-5e8b30996abe.html
https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/alleged-driver-in-yakima-police-shooting-faces-judge-on-k9-assault-eluding-and-dui-charges/article_d0b0851e-b3c6-43db-a9d1-35fa602ba46a.html
https://newstalkkit.com/victim-and-suspect-identified-after-shooting/
https://newstalkkit.com/yakima-officers-back-to-work/