3 suspects in Ada, Canyon jails in connection with October shooting near Idaho Bi-Mart
Three people are in custody after their arrests in an October shooting in the parking lot of a Canyon County grocery store.
In a news release Monday, the Caldwell Police Department named three suspects in a shooting outside a Bi-Mart and said all three are in Treasure Valley jails: Nicholas Riley, 24, of Nampa; Jennifer Nickerson, 37, of Caldwell; and Blain Imholt, 23, of Boise.
Police arrested the three on suspicion of taking part in the shooting, which left a 23-year-old man with gunshot wounds. Officers are also accusing Riley and Imholt of taking part in an aggravated assault that took place nearby on the same day as the shooting. Nickerson is being held in jail on suspicion of aiding and abetting the shooting.
At around 3:50 p.m. on Oct. 16, Caldwell police were sent to the store, located on North 10th Avenue, after a report of shots being fired. Officers arrived and found the victim crashed into multiple cars in the parking lot while trying to drive away, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting. The man was hospitalized for his wounds and was later released.
Police believed the two shooting suspects left the parking lot and got into a car that was waiting around the building. The store went into lockdown after the shooting, with roughly 40 people inside.
As of Monday, charges were not listed in online court records. In the news release, CPD said the charges could include attempted murder, aggravated assault and discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle.
Caldwell police say Riley and Nickerson were arrested in Baker City, Oregon, on Oct. 28, and are in the custody of the Canyon County jail. Imholt was arrested in Boise on Oct. 22 and is being held at the Ada County Jail.
Police say the criminal investigation is ongoing and there might be additional suspects.
A search of online court records and records from the Idaho Department of Correction show all three were on probation or parole at the time of the alleged shooting. Riley is listed on IDOC’s website as a parolee in custody. He was on parole through 2023 in connection with a felony aggravated assault charge in Ada County.
Imholt spent time in prison for 2018 convictions of felony grand theft and burglary in Kootenai County. On Feb. 15, 2019, he was sentenced to a minimum of two years and up to six. It was not clear from IDOC records when he was released.
IDOC records show Nickerson is on probation stemming from a felony charge of possessing a controlled substance in Canyon County. She pleaded guilty in August and was given a five-year probation term in lieu of prison time.
