Prosecutor: Woman who shot man near Boise State campus ‘did want to kill him’
Prosecutors alleged in court that the reason a young woman arrested in a shooting near Boise State University over the weekend wounded a man was because he had gotten drunk.
Emiliana McCormick, who works for the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, called Sophia Rains’ criminal case “egregious.”
On Sunday morning, sometime before 12:45 a.m., Rains led the man into an alleyway near West Belmont Street and South Longmont Avenue, which is just off of South Broadway Avenue, where she waited until he was within feet of her and shot him in the chest, according to the Boise Police Department and Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.
McCormick said that Rains, 21, of Bosie, told police officers, “I got so pissed, I did want to kill him.”
Rains admitted to fleeing from the scene with her ex-husband and added that she threw the gun into the Boise River, McCormick said in a court hearing. The victim, who was shot twice, was taken to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise with life-threatening injuries.
Rains “showed little remorse” and laughed when she described the victim lying on the ground to law enforcement, McCormick said. She added that the prosecution believes they have a “strong case,” with shell casings and a bullet recovered at the scene, and eyewitnesses who saw the shooting.
McCormick asked the presiding judge to set bond at $2 million, while Rains’ public defender asked for $100,000, saying Rains had a minimal criminal history.
Magistrate Judge Abraham Wingrove, who presides over infractions and misdemeanor-level cases in Ada County, set Rains’ bail at $1 million. He said he had “some concerns given the serious nature of the allegations” that brought her before the court.
When asked by Wingrove, of Idaho’s 4th Judicial District, whether she understood the charges against her, Rains responded, “Uh, I know they’re serious, so yeah.”
Rains right now is facing a single felony count of aggravated battery, along with two misdemeanor charges for destruction of evidence and possession of a controlled substance, court filings showed. If convicted, she could face up to 15 years in prison.
Detectives with the Boise Police Department are asking anyone who may have footage of the incident or any other additional information to contact Ada County Dispatch at 208-377-6790.
Rains’ next court date, a preliminary hearing, is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. May 27 at the Ada County Courthouse.
