Shooting suspect Deborah A. Reimer has been ordered to stand trial in Blaine County 5th District Court on a felony charge of second-degree attempted murder.
"There is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed this offense," Magistrate Court Judge Ted Israel ruled following a daylong preliminary hearing on Wednesday in Hailey.
Reimer, 54, is accused of firing two shots at former boyfriend Robert Dreyer at his home at Glade Court in Ketchum on the morning of Wednesday, July 18.
"Basically, the whole crux of what we've got here is a spurned lover," Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Thomas told the court during Wednesday's hearing.
Hailey attorney Keith Roark, who is representing Reimer under his firm's public defender contract with the county, used his time before the bench to point out potential weaknesses in the state's case against his client.
Specifically, Roark told the court that the weapon used in the shooting has not been located and that the caliber of the gun remains in question. He also attacked the memory or the credibility of the only two people who testified to seeing Reimer in or near Dreyer's home on the morning of the shooting.
Dreyer testified that he was intimately involved with Reimer for the past three or four years, but had been trying to end the relationship since last fall when he had her evicted from his home. He said he let her stay with him again later, but had her evicted again on the Friday before the shooting took place.
Dreyer admitted to having sex with Reimer on Tuesday the day before the shooting when she came to his home to pick up some clothes, but testified that he wouldn't let her stay at his house that night.
"She was very, very pleading with me," Dreyer said "I just told her, 'I'm truly sorry. I just can't let you stay in my house.'"
A voicemail message was played in court that Reimer allegedly left for Dreyer on Tuesday evening before the shooting.
"I just want you to know how much I love you," Reimer allegedly said in the message. "You could have embraced that, and we could have had a wonderful life together. I just don't know what I'll do without you in my life."
Dreyer further testified that he had just finished a shower when the shooting occurred.
"Just as I finished rinsing off, I hear this tremendous explosion. It just rocked my body," he said. "I literally thought I'd been shot. I saw a shadow on the other side of my curtain, and I assumed it was Deborah. I saw her hair. I did not see her face. But it was clearly Deborah."
Dreyer answered most questions directly and without hesitation. He seemed overcome with emotion a few times while on the witness stand but managed to maintain his composure nonetheless.
He had trouble recalling what statements he made to police following the shooting, but explained that "I was a little bit traumatized at that time."
Reimer, wearing orange jail attire and sitting between Roark and assistant counsel Douglas Nelson, appeared tired, but alert and emotionless throughout the hearing.
Israel allowed the suspect's handcuffs to be removed so that she could take notes. Her legs remained cuffed and shackled.
Lorrie Grubbs, one of the former owners of Bob's Sports Pawn & Lock in Hailey, testified that Reimer purchased a .357 magnum revolver from the store last year.
Ketchum police detective Ken Martinez said ballistics tests have not been completed to determine the caliber of the bullet slugs found in the wall in Dreyer's bathroom.
Roark pointed out that Dreyer told several people following the shooting that Reimer owned a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.
Roark also questioned the credibility of Craig Everhart, a carpenter who lives in Ketchum, who testified that he saw Reimer leaving the area about 10 minutes after the shooting.
"I saw Deborah leave. I'm pretty sure it was her," Everhart said.
Roark alleged that Everhart concocted his testimony in exchange for Dreyer giving him a job.
Everhart acknowledge that he is currently doing carpentry work for Dreyer at another home Dreyer owns, but said his testimony was not connected with his employment.
Everhart became upset when Roark asked him if he'd ever been convicted of a felony. After being admonished by Israel to answer the question and not interrupt, Everhart acknowledged that he had.
"I have been unjustly convicted of whatever you want to call it," he said.
Roark said at the close of the hearing that he will file a motion to have bail reduced for his client. She is currently being held on $500,000 bond.
Deborah A. Reimer
