Arson suspect pleads not guilty

SANDPOINT — The suspect in an arson fire has pled not guilty to the July 4, 2024, blaze which destroyed the Sandpoint Army Surplus building. 

Jennifer Suzanne Meyer made the plea at a Thursday arraignment hearing. 

The hearing was her first appearance in court since she was ordered to undergo treatment at Idaho State Hospital North. According to court records, Meyer, 50, was released from the hospital and entered back into jail Jan. 30.  

Meyer was deemed competent to proceed with her case, setting way for a pre-trial date of April 21 and a five-day trial starting May 12.   

Meyer was charged in mid-July of last year with setting a fire that destroyed the Army Surplus building in Sandpoint. Multiple surveillance cameras and eyewitnesses put Meyer at the scene of the crime, with evidence strongly suggesting that she caused the fire.  

When police searched Meyers home, officials allegedly found a bag that contained her driver’s license, birth certificate, college transcript, passport, a gun and other valuables such as cash and silver.  

Meyer was arrested July 17, 2024.