A Cedar Rapids woman who claimed she was shot in the leg by a masked assailant really injured herself, police said Wednesday in announcing gun, drug and false report charges against her.
Amber Nicole Snider, 39, is charged with possession of a firearm as a felon, false reports, intent to manufacture and deliver methamphetamine, failure to affix drug tax stamp, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Police were called at 7:41 p.m. Oct. 16 to Snider’s house in the 1200 block of 34th St. NE for a report of a shooting, according to the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Officers found Snider, who had a gunshot wound in her leg. She claimed she was shot by a man in a ski mask while taking out her garbage, according to a search warrant request filed Oct. 18.
Police checked several surveillance cameras at nearby houses, hoping to find evidence of an assailant running away, but none of the cameras had recorded anything during the time period of the shooting. Police also noticed a trail of blood leading into the house, even though Snider said she hadn’t gone back into the house after being shot before police arrived, the warrant request states.
The day after the shooting, after Snider had gotten medical attention, she was interviewed again by police and her story changed. The description she gave of the assailant was different, including changing his race. When she was confronted about the trail of blood, she said she actually had been shot in the house, according to the warrant request.
Snider eventually confessed that she had lied about the shooting because she had shot herself accidentally and was worried about being charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Snider has felony convictions for forgery and identity theft. She told police that the firearm was not hers, but believed someone who had been at her house left it behind. She said she opened her nightstand, not realizing the gun was there — and it went off, according to the warrant request.
Police received a warrant to search Snider’s house for weapons because she said the firearm was still inside. Officers found a silver .22 pistol and a Sig Sauer 9 mm pistol in Snider’s bedroom, according to a criminal complaint.
While in the house, an officer noticed a tray of marijuana, and police requested a separate search warrant to look for illegal substances, according to a warrant request.
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The second search revealed “over seven grams of methamphetamine without any tax stamp or official indicia attached to it, a digital scale used for weighing controlled substances prior to delivery and multiple baggies used to package controlled substances for delivery to others. Multiple items of drug paraphernalia were found as well as marijuana,” the criminal complaint states.
Snider was arrested Tuesday and booked into the Linn County Jail. She had her initial appearance Wednesday and is being held on $40,000 bail.
Police: Cedar Rapids woman shot self, lied
A Cedar Rapids woman has been arrested on charges that she shot herself in the leg and lied to police about where the gunshot came from.
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