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Leo Thomas Sanders

Age : 18

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/22/2025

Location : Squirrel Creek Road and Adam Avenue

City : Grass Valley

County : Nevada

State : California

Agency : Nevada County Sheriff’s Office

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Suicide

Event : Suicide under police duress

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/22/2025, Nevada County sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported disturbance at a residence on Glen Meadow Drive in Grass Valley. Deputies found 58-year-old Sarah Regina Sanders suffering from major injuries. Investigators subsequently alleged that Sanders had been shot by her 18-year-old son, Leo Thomas Sanders. She was transported to a hospital in Placer County, where she died from her injuries later that day.
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Leo Sanders had left the Glen Meadow Drive residence before deputies arrived. Police obtained a description of him and began searching the surrounding area. Deputies subsequently located Sanders riding a motorcycle.
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Nevada County sheriff’s deputies attempted to stop Sanders and began pursuing him on the motorcycle. The Sheriff’s Office described the pursuit as brief. The documented reason for the attempted stop and pursuit was the investigation into the shooting of his mother at the Glen Meadow Drive residence.
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The pursuit ended at Squirrel Creek Road and Adam Avenue. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Sanders then shot himself. Deputies and fire and EMS personnel attempted emergency medical treatment, but Sanders died at the scene from the self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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The Sheriff’s Office initially withheld both identities pending notification of relatives. Later reporting identified the mother as Sarah Regina Sanders, 58, and her son as Leo Thomas Sanders, 18.
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The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office continued investigating both Sarah Sanders’s killing and the circumstances surrounding Leo Sanders’s death. The agency said its investigation supported its conclusion that the original shooting was an isolated incident.
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Because Leo Sanders fatally shot himself while Nevada County sheriff’s deputies were actively pursuing him in connection with the fatal shooting investigation, his death is classified for this database as suicide under police duress.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
The Nevada County sheriff’s deputies who located Leo Sanders and participated in the motorcycle pursuit have not been publicly identified.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.kcra.com/article/mother-killed-by-son-police-chase-nevada-county/65876119
https://www.kcra.com/article/law-enforcement-responding-to-scene-in-nevada-county-avoid-area/65874089
https://nevadacountyca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/59200/82225-Subject-Takes-Own-Lift-Following-Incident
https://nevadacountyca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/59199/82225-Glen-Meadow-Dr-Victim-Passes-from-Injuries-Sustained
https://yubanet.com/regional/person-takes-own-life-following-incident-in-grass-valley/
https://hoodline.com/2025/08/grass-valley-mourns-mother-s-death-in-son-involved-shooting-suspect-ends-own-life-after-nevada-county-pursuit/