LOGAN — A 38-year-old Nibley woman has been denied bail, days after she allegedly shot at her boyfriend while he was doing yard work. Katherine Martin was ordered to remain in jail, after a judge said he considered the suspect to be a “flight risk and risk to the public.”
Martin appeared for a bail hearing Wednesday morning in 1st District Court. She has been charged with attempted murder, a first-degree felony; two counts of obstructing justice, a second-degree felony; three counts of felony discharge of a firearm and one count of domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony; and carrying a dangerous weapon under the influence, a class B misdemeanor.
According to an arrest affidavit, a man called 911 on Sunday and reported that his girlfriend “has a gun and had shot three times at him while he was outside trimming trees.” The called said the woman and her 10-year-old son were inside the home in Nibley.
Cache County Sheriff’s deputies who responded to the scene reported finding three “recently fired” 9mm shell casings on the driveway within 8 feet of each other. They also observed a round hole in the front of an old camp trailer near the top of the camper, the hole had fresh splinters and appeared to be recently made, the affidavit stated.
The man told deputies he and Martin had been arguing and he had stepped outside to leave the argument. Martin and her son then played kickball while he was trimming the trees.
Martin then reportedly went inside with her son, then came out brandishing the gun and yelling. She then went back into the house and came outside again and fired two shots in the direction of the man, according to deputies’ probable cause statement.
The man then told law enforcement he opened the driver side door of a Toyota pickup truck that was attached to the camp trailer to get his phone and call 911. While he was looking at his phone, Martin fired a third shot, which the man said hit the hood of the truck. She then went back inside the home.
Deputies reported bullets were hollow-point rounds, similar in caliber to those “commonly used in self-defense.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, defense attorney Ryan Holdaway said he had met with Martin and was gathering evidence in the case. He asked for a preliminary hearing, when a judge will determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to bind the suspect over for trial.
Martin was ordered to remain in jail and appear for a preliminary hearing July 14. She could face up to life in prison, if convicted.
Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.