Competency hearing set in Sandpoint arson case

SANDPOINT — A court will determine whether a woman charged with arson is competent to stand trial.

Jennifer Suzanne Meyer, 50, was charged earlier this month after police said multiple surveillance videos showed her acting suspiciously on July 4 near the Army Surplus store that caught fire.

The competency hearing was requested by public defender Catherine E. Enright's interaction, who reported receiving calls from Meyer's acquaintances concerned with her mental health, according to court records.

At a July 17 hearing, originally set for a video arraignment at the Bonner County Jail, Meyer refused to appear on camera, forcing deputies to bring her to the courthouse. 

"I can't do this right now," she could be heard telling a bailiff at the jail as he directed her to sit in the chair and face the camera. "I can't do video responses. No, I can't do it. I'm sorry."

The exchange prompted Magistrate Judge Luke Hagelberg to ask the bailiff if someone could transport Meyer from the jail so the arraignment hearing could continue. 

Once at the courthouse, Meyer was unresponsive, placing her head on the defense's table, where she was motionless and silent throughout the 10-minute arraignment hearing.

At one point, Hagelberg asked if she could hear him before noting he had heard her speaking to the bailiffs at the jail and ruled that the hearing could continue.

In court records, the competency review was ordered to be held within 30 days and a status review set of the findings for Aug. 21.

Meyer was arrested July 17 following an interview with Sandpoint Police and subsequently taken into custody on a charge of first-degree arson.

During a search of Meyer's home, officers allegedly found a bag next to the front door containing personal documents, including her driver's license, birth certificate, college transcripts and passport, $1,000 in cash, a gun and ammunition, and silver valued at an estimated $1,200.

Citing the potential for flight and the need to protect the public, Hagelberg set a $1 million bond in the case. The charge carries a potential sentence of up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.