FORT COLLINS — A judge ruled Friday that Loveland-area resident Eric Gray be held without bail at the Larimer County jail on a charge of first-degree murder.

Gray, 36, is accused of killing his 75-year-old neighbor, Gerald Donovan, on June 6.

Judge Julie Kunce Field said at Gray’s preliminary hearing Friday that the court found “proof evident and presumption great … that the crime alleged to have been committed was committed by Mr. Gray.”

Field said the weapon used, the distance between the victim and a shell casing, the indication by all witnesses and evidence that the victim didn’t have a weapon, and that Gray allegedly went back inside his home and brought out an assault-style rifle to shoot Donovan after an argument were enough to determine probable cause that the suspect acted with deliberation.

The case was set for arraignment for 2 p.m. Oct. 20.

Witnesses at the scene reportedly told investigators that Donovan and Gray had had an ongoing neighbor dispute about property lines, though no witnesses could confirm what the argument was about the night of the shooting June 6 in the 5600 block of Thomas Court, just outside city limits in north Loveland.

According to investigators, witnesses said Donovan was in the yard working with his wife. Investigators say witnesses reported that Donovan had had a stroke a few years ago, so he was sitting down on a pile of wood, resting.

Gray was reportedly in his trailer nearby, and investigators said Gray told them Donovan came up to his trailer from the back. Gray reportedly told investigators that he left the trailer, and the two men began to argue (witnesses also told investigators they heard arguing).

Gray reportedly went to his house, where he got his rifle from the bedroom. Investigators said that a witness reported that she saw Donovan walking with a “determined” gait toward the cul-de-sac, though she did not see Gray. The walk was described as “arthritic” in the investigator’s report from the witness.

Investigators said that Donovan’s wife reportedly told them that she didn’t see the shooter but that she saw her husband collapsed in the cul-de-sac.

Gray’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, argued that there were a lot of questions that remained unanswered, including whether Gray’s actions were in self-defense, where Donovan was when Gray allegedly went to get his gun and where the property line dispute even was.

However, prosecutor Jenny Ellison argued that the shooting was deliberate because of several factors, including that the victim did not have a weapon, Gray allegedly went back into his house to obtain a loaded rifle and the victim was shot from more than 12.5 yards away.

Saja Hindi: 970-669-5050 ext. 521, hindis@reporter-herald.com, twitter.com/SajaHindiRH.