Sheriff’s investigators walk to a home on Dennis Street after a Dec. 16 shooting.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
A Johnson Lane man accused of killing 63-year-old Kathy Jean Weiland before turning the gun on himself will remain in custody without bail, East Fork Justice of the Peace Laurie Trotter ruled Friday.
Gregory Joseph Ward, 63, appeared in East Fork Justice Court for a status hearing in connection with a fatal shooting that was discovered Dec. 16, 2024, at his Dennis Street home.
District Attorney Mark Jackson argued the case for keeping Ward in custody with Reno Attorney Theresa Ristenpart arguing on Ward’s behalf.
She pointed out that Ward had two dozen letters vouching for his character and there were several supporters in the gallery for the hearing.
According to evidence presented by Jackson, victim Kathy Weigand was sitting in a high-backed chair with her feet up on an Ottoman and her head in a scarf. Ristenpart added that there was a marijuana pipe on a table next to her.
The shooting took place around 9 p.m. the night before, according to Jackson. When co-workers checked on Ward the next morning after he didn’t come to work, he was found sitting in the bathroom, missing his jaw from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
On the dresser in his bedroom, was a bank envelope with the words “I went too far and I’m sorry,” written on them, Jackson said.
A .380 pistol was found in the home along with a soft pouch. One shell casing was found near where Weigand was sitting. Jackson said the .380 was covered in blood.
“Kathy was asleep when he went up to her, pointed the gun at her head and pulled the trigger,” Jackson argued. “That’s as premeditated and cold blooded a murder as there can be. It doesn’t matter what he did the rest of his life. The worst crime anyone can commit is murder. When you take someone’s life it is horrific, it is egregious and that’s why the state recognizes that murderers are different.”
Because of his injuries, Ward could not speak when medics arrived, but he could nod and shake his head.
Jackson said that paramedics asked him if he’d shot himself, and he nodded yes.
Ristenpart challenged the claim that Ward confessed to the shooting during a 32-minute interview with detectives.
The nurse on duty was so concerned about the detectives’ questioning Ward that she contacted family to say that she was concerned about what they are doing,” Ristenpart said.
She pointed out that Weigand had a history of mental health issues, including a domestic battery against her sister.
“There were numerous calls to her sister’s house, where people heard her yelling and walking around,” Ristenpart said. “Neighbors often heard her in same state.”
She said that two of Weigand’s sisters wrote letters that they didn’t feel Ward should be in jail.
Jackson said Ward was being watched carefully in the jail, since he’d apparently tried to commit suicide.
“The justice that a case like this demands hinges on keeping Mr. Ward alive,” Jackson argued.
Trotter ruled she found no combination of conditions that would ensure the safety to the community or the defendant.
She set a March 5 hearing date for Ward to come back to court. He is currently in custody. In addition to Ristenpart, Ward is also being represented by attorney Max Stovall.
Ward is denying the murder charge through his attorneys and is presumed innocent.