Opinion ID: 4549439
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the murder and the guilty plea

Text: ¶3 On the morning of August 28, 2005, Janeil Reed, Drommond‘s ex-wife, went with her father to Drommond‘s apartment to drop off their children for a visit. Reed‘s father, Neil Bradley, waited for her in the car. Upon arriving, the children ran up the stairs to Drommond‘s apartment door and were let inside. Reed went up the stairs to the door, too, carrying a box of items that Drommond had asked her to bring. ¶4 Reed and Drommond stood just inside the doorway, talking. The conversation ended abruptly when Drommond pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot Reed once, hitting her in the arm and chest area. Reed screamed and stumbled back, falling partway down the front stairs of the apartment. Drommond followed her, stepping out of the doorway to the top of the stairs. He then raised the gun (so that it was three or four feet from Reed‘s head) and pulled the trigger again, this time shooting her in the head. She died very quickly. ¶5 Hearing the shots, Bradley darted from his car toward Drommond, hoping to detain him. At the same time, Drommond‘s roommate, Ryan Zimmer—who had been outside as well—came toward Drommond. Zimmer stopped when he saw that the Drommond children ―were just right inside the doorway‖ of the apartment. He told them to stay in the apartment and closed the door. ¶6 Bradley came running up the stairs toward Drommond, and Drommond shot him. The bullet pierced Bradley‘s arm and 2 Cite as: 2020 UT 50 Opinion of the Court entered his body. (Bradley survived his wounds.) Bradley and Zimmer tried to wrestle the gun away from Drommond. They eventually received help from Jason Von Weller, a neighbor, who stripped the gun from Drommond. Drommond tried to get the gun back but was pinned down until the police arrived and arrested him. ¶7 The State charged Drommond with aggravated murder, attempted murder, and violating a protective order. Drommond was then evaluated for competency by four court-appointed psychologists: Randal Oster, John Malouf, Nancy Cohn, and Stephen Golding. Each psychologist diagnosed him with a different mental health problem, but each concluded that Drommond was competent to proceed. ¶8 Next, Drommond pleaded guilty to aggravated murder. As part of the plea deal, the State dismissed the remaining charges and agreed not to seek the death penalty.