Three Idaho residents sentenced in connection with shooting in Caldwell parking lot
The last of three Idahoans convicted of crimes related to an October 2021 shooting in the parking lot of a Caldwell store was sentenced Thursday.
Nampa resident Nicholas Riley, 25, was sentenced for his part in the shooting of a then-23-year-old Caldwell man in the parking lot of the Bi-Mart located at 425 N 10th Avenue, according to a news release from the Caldwell Police Department. Two other defendants — Blain Imholt, 24, and Jennifer Nickerson, 38 — were sentenced earlier this year.
There was also a second victim in the case who wasn’t mentioned in Friday’s release. At some point during the incident, Imholt pointed his gun at a now 28-year-old man and created “a well-founded fear” that “violence was imminent,” according to multiple court documents reviewed by the Idaho Statesman.
The Statesman previously reported that Imholt and Riley were suspected of “taking part in an aggravated assault that took place nearby on the same day as the shooting.” It’s unclear whether that was the second victim.
“These three individuals caused panic and terror in our city,” Caldwell Police Chief Rex Ingram said in the release. “They showed a blatant disregard to the lives of innocent people, some of which included children, on the day of the shooting. Caldwell Police do not take these cries lightly and will investigate them to the fullest extent.”
The Bi-Mart was locked down with about 40 shoppers inside during the shooting, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
Riley, Imholt and Nickerson were all initially charged with numerous felonies related to the shooting, but the majority of their individual charges were dismissed when they pleaded guilty as part of agreements with the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office.
Riley pleaded guilty to felony aggravated battery in July, online court records showed. He was on parole during the 2021 shooting, according to records from the Idaho Department of Correction. He was sentenced to spend at least five years in prison, plus an indeterminate sentence — which means he could spend that time in prison, on parole or both — of 10 years, the Caldwell Police Department said.
Riley is also serving two other prison sentences. He pleaded guilty — and was sentenced to five years — for intimidating a witness in October 2021 and is expected to finish his prior sentence stemming from a 2017 felony aggravated assault charge, according to online court records.
What happened?
At roughly 3:50 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2021, Caldwell police responded to a report of shots fired at the grocery store, the news release said. Upon arrival, police found a victim who was shot twice. One bullet hit his left arm and exited his chest, while the other grazed him on the chin, police said. He survived all the injuries.
According to the news release, Imholt used someone else’s Facebook account to message the victim, allowing Imholt and Riley to “lure” the victim to the store’s parking lot to exchange an envelope. The pair told the victim they were in a different vehicle and this caused the victim to circle the parking lot, police said.
Riley then approached the driver’s side door and after “seven seconds there was a physical altercation in which Riley pulled a gun out: and shot at the victim. The victim then stabbed Riley in the chest in self-defense. During all of this, Imholt was shooting the victim from the rear of the vehicle.”
To get away from Imholt and Riley, the victim accelerated his car “and ended up crashing into parked cars in the parking lot,” the release said. Imholt and Riley left the scene and got into a small Nissan truck that Nickerson was waiting in, police said.
Imholt was arrested in Boise roughly a week after the shooting, according to prior Statesman reporting, but Riley and Nickerson weren’t arrested until Oct. 28 in Baker City, Oregon.
Caldwell police were assisted by the Canyon County and Ada County sheriff’s offices, IDOC, Oregon State Police, and the Meridian and Garden City police departments during this investigation, according to the release.
“This was a long, thorough and complicated investigation. I give kudos to our officers and detectives who worked tirelessly on this case to keep the community safe,” Ingram said.
The co-defendants
Imholt was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison but could be out on parole after three, the news release said. He was given credit for 230 days of time served, meaning he could be released as early as November 2024, online prison and jail records showed.
He pleaded guilty to two of the charges against him — aggravated assault and the unlawful discharge of a weapon into a vehicle — through the plea deal in April. The aggravated assault charge stems from Imholt pointing his gun at the second victim.
Nickerson was initially charged with aid and abet, aiding and abetting an aggravated assault and aiding and abetting the discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle. She pleaded guilty to aid and abet in March 2022, specifically for “providing transportation” to Riley and Imholt, according to court records.
Nickerson was sentenced to up to five years in prison with the possibility of parole after two, according to the Caldwell Police Department news release. She could be out on parole by November 2023 after being given credit for 119 days of time served, according to online court and prison records.
