| Brian Gene Nichols | | Nichols after his surrender on March 12, 2005 | | | Born | December 10, 1971 (1971-12-10) (age 35)
Baltimore, Maryland ,
 United States | | Conviction(s) | murder, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated assault on a police officer, battery, theft, carjacking, rape and escape. | | Penalty | On trial | | Status | Incarcerated, pending trial | Brian Gene Nichols (born December 10, 1971) is an African-American criminal known for his escape and killing spree in the Fulton county courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia on March 11, 2005. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...
is the 344th day of the year (345th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ...
Flag Seal Nickname: Monument City, Charm City, Mob Town, B-more Motto: Get In On It (formerly The City That Reads and The Greatest City in America; BELIEVE is not the official motto but rather a specific campaign) Location Location of Baltimore in Maryland Coordinates , Government Country State County United...
Official language(s) None (English, de facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Largest metro area Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area Area Ranked 42nd - Total 12,407 sq mi (32,133 km²) - Width 101 miles (145 km) - Length 249 miles (400 km) - % water 21 - Latitude 37° 53′ N to 39° 43′ N...
Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...
Aggravated assault is a form of violent crime. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
A young waif steals a pair of boots “Stealing†redirects here. ...
Carjacking is the crime of stealing a motor vehicle when the vehicle is occupied. ...
is the 344th day of the year (345th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ...
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. ...
In most counties in the United States the local trial courts conduct their business in a centrally located courthouse which may also house the offices of the county treasurer, clerk and recorder and assessor. ...
Atlanta redirects here. ...
is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Early life
What little is known about Nichols' early life is that he came from a middle class family and attended college at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, for three semesters from 1989 to 1990. At that time, he was also on their football team. Berks County records show that Nichols had been arrested three times from 1990 to 1991 on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to making threats. After his brief stay at Kutztown, Nichols went to Newberry College from 1992 to 1993, and played football there. Athletic spokesman Ryan Gross said that during that time Nichols was kicked off the football team for stealing from a dorm room. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania is an American public university located in rural Kutztown, Berks County, Pennsylvania, and is one of fourteen schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools,[2] Pennsylvania Department of Education, NCATE...
United States Pennsylvania Berks 4. ...
Berks County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ...
Newberry College is a liberal-arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located on an ninety acre (324,000 m²) campus in Newberry, South Carolina. ...
At the time of his trial for rape and false imprisonment in early 2005, Nichols was a computer engineer working for UPS. According to his brother, Nichols earned a six-figure income and regularly attended church. False imprisonment is a tort, and possibly a crime, wherein a person is intentionally confined without legal authority. ...
The shootings and escape The following is what is alleged by the State of Georgia. After a 51-year old female sheriff's deputy, 5'2" Cynthia Hall, removed his handcuffs so that he could change into civilian clothes (so that the jury would not be prejudiced against him), Nichols attacked the deputy and took her sidearm. According to hospital sources the deputy suffered bruising to her brain and some fractures around her face. After the attack, her condition was announced critical, but she survived. Look up Sheriff in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Nichols then crossed over to the old courthouse via a skybridge, where he entered the private chambers of Judge Rowland W. Barnes. While there he encountered another deputy, overpowered him and also took his weapon. Nichols then entered Barnes' courtroom from a door behind the judge's bench, where Barnes was presiding over motions in a civil trial, and shot him in the back of the head. Nichols then shot Julie Brandau, the court reporter, and as he made his escape from the courthouse he shot Sgt. Hoyt Teasley, a pursuing deputy. Barnes and the court reporter died at the scene and the deputy was pronounced dead on arrival ad Grady Memorial Hospital. A skyway is a path that is traversed without touching the ground. ...
Judge Rowland Barnes Rowland W. Barnes (b. ...
Dead on arrival or DOA is a notation that a patient was brought to a hospital and immediately pronounced dead by a physician. ...
Grady Memorial Hospital, frequently referred to as Grady Hospital or simply Grady, is the largest hospital in the state of Georgia, and is the public hospital for the city of Atlanta. ...
During his escape Nichols tried to carjack at least three vehicles, ending up in a multilevel parking structure for Atlanta's Underground tourist area. He first took a tow truck at gun point outside the courtroom. Later he hijacked a Honda Accord from Don O'Briant, a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Nichols pistol-whipped O'Briant in order to gain control of the car. Carjacking is the crime of stealing a motor vehicle when the vehicle is occupied. ...
The Honda Accord is an automobile manufactured by Honda since 1976, debuting as a compact hatchback and evolving into a intermediate vehicle. ...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the only major daily newspaper of Atlanta and metro Atlanta. ...
Pistol Whip is a custom variant of slayer in Halo 2 To create the variant turn off weapons that spawn on map. ...
It was later reported that the Honda Accord never left the parking deck from which it was stolen. Police began treating the deck as a crime scene around 11:45 p.m. EST and examining security cameras. Investigators suspected Nichols may have abandoned the car after spotting an easier target, taking the owner with him to avoid being reported. The Honda Accord is an automobile manufactured by Honda since 1976, debuting as a compact hatchback and evolving into a intermediate vehicle. ...
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard's office later announced that a call had been received from a man claiming to be Nichols, who threatened to kill Assistant District Attorney Gayle Abramson. It was also announced that Nichols stole a gun from a second deputy.
Manhunt and capture After a press conference consisting of various members of the Atlanta Police Department and Mayor Shirley Franklin, it was announced that there was a reward of approximately $60,000 for information leading to Nichols' arrest. Shirley Clarke Franklin (born May 10, 1945) is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and the current mayor of Atlanta, Georgia since January 7, 2002. ...
On the morning of Saturday, March 12, it was reported that a U.S. Customs Agent, now identified as David Wilhelm, was shot and killed somewhere in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, and that the agent's badge, gun and pickup truck were missing. Nichols is the prime suspect in the murder of Wilhelm. Buckhead is a community within the city of Atlanta, comprising over 100,000 residents, forming approximately the northern one-fifth of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Buckhead is legally defined as that portion of the city of Atlanta northwest of I-85 and northeast of I-75. ...
This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ...
The best selling North American pickup truck, the Ford F-Series. ...
Nichols later approached a woman named Ashley Smith at an apartment complex in Duluth, Georgia, approximately 27 miles north of Atlanta in Gwinnett County. Nichols reportedly told her that he was a wanted man. He then forced her into the bathroom and tied her up. He placed a handtowel over her head while he took a shower (so that she wouldn't have to watch him). She was sitting on a stool with the towel around her eyes when she told him about her five-year-old daughter, Paige. Thinking she may never see her daughter again, she tried to reason with him. Ashley (Copeland) Smith ( b August 1, 1978) was a hostage held by Brian Nichols in her apartment complex located in Duluth, Georgia, over the night of March 11-12, 2005. ...
A picture from the annual Duluth Fall Festival Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and a suburb of Atlanta located in the Metro Atlanta area. ...
Gwinnett County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. ...
Smith was held hostage for several hours in her own apartment, during which time Nichols requested marijuana, but Smith told him she only had "ice" (methamphetamine). In her book “Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero” Smith revealed that she “had been struggling with a methamphetamine addiction when she was taken hostage” and the last time she used meth “was 36 hours before Nichols held a gun to her and entered her home. Nichols wanted her to use the drug with him, but she refused.”[1] Instead, she chose to read to him from the Bible and Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life. She tried to convince Nichols to turn himself in by sharing with him how her husband "had died in her arms four years earlier after being stabbed during a brawl."[2] Smith also writes that she asked Nichols “if he wanted to see the danger of drugs and lifted up her tank top several inches to reveal a five-inch scar down the center of her torso — the aftermath of a car wreck caused by drug-induced psychosis. She says she let go of the steering wheel when she heard a voice saying, ‘Let go and let God.’”[2] When news of his crimes was reported on television, Nichols looked to the ceiling and asked the Lord to forgive him. In the morning Smith cooked breakfast for Nichols. Cannabis, also known as marijuana[1] or ganja,[2] is a psychoactive product of the plant Cannabis sativa L. subsp. ...
This article is about the psychostimulant, d-methamphetamine. ...
This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...
The Purpose Driven Life book cover The Purpose Driven Life (2002) is a devotional book written by Christian author Rick Warren and published by Zondervan. ...
When Nichols let Smith leave her apartment to visit her daughter, Smith called 9-1-1, and local law enforcement, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms responded to the scene. The Gwinnett SWAT team quickly surrounded the apartment. After some time, Nichols surrendered peacefully to the SWAT Team and was quickly taken away. Atlanta police chief Richard Pennington admitted surprise that Nichols surrendered peacefully. For other uses, see 911 (disambiguation). ...
F.B.I. and FBI redirect here. ...
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF) is a law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. ...
This article is about Special Weapons and Tactics. ...
Police initially thought that Smith may have had a prior relationship with Nichols, but later decided that she was chosen at random. Following Nichols' arrest, Smith is believed to be eligible for the reward for his capture.
Indictment On May 5, 2005, he was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury on 54 counts including murder, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated assault on a police officer, battery, theft, carjacking, and escape from authorities. is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Aggravated assault is a form of violent crime. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
A young waif steals a pair of boots “Stealing†redirects here. ...
Carjacking is the crime of stealing a motor vehicle when the vehicle is occupied. ...
Nichols subsequently pled not guilty to the charges on May 17. Jury selection began in January, 2007. Nichols' attorneys disclosed at that time that they wanted to defend Nichols on the basis of mental health. They did not disclose any further information.[3] Nichols' pre-trial hearing commenced mid-September, 2007. His defense attorneys submitted that they were not receiving enough funding. Nichols' attorneys attributed this to the Georgia legislature limiting state funding for defense attorneys, the prosecution continuing to interview witnesses (which the defense then must interview) and the complication of factoring in the mental health defense. His trial expected to commence October 2, 2007. [4] In criminal law, an acquittal is the legal result of a verdict of not guilty, or some similar end of the proceeding that terminates it with prejudice without a verdict of guilty being entered against the accused. ...
is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced he would seek the death penalty. Nichols is expected to become Georgia's most expensive defendant, with his case likely topping $5 million for the prosecution and defense combined. The judge and Standards Council assigned Nichols four attorneys. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ...
The prosecution secured a 54-count indictment and has more than 300 people on its witness list. That's the most of any death penalty case that Mears, who has written books on the death penalty in Georgia, is aware of in his 24-year career.
The trial also could become one of the longest death penalty cases in the state's history, lasting up to seven months instead of the usual four to six weeks.
Nichols' family reaction Nichols' parents were not available for immediate reaction, as they were traveling abroad in Africa where Nichols' mother works. She became aware of her son's case via a CNN broadcast while in Tanzania. She remains in contact with Nichols' criminal attorney Barry Hazen via email. The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ...
Nichols' brother Mark was very upset, quoting "Everyone knows me as the brother of the person who killed those people".
Nichols' aunt and uncle state that their families hearts go out to those family members whose loved ones were killed. He stated that "Brian is a nice young man as far as we know. I don't know what happened".
Childhood friend Maxine Glover described Nichols as a "normal young child playing with the other kids in the block, very well mannered, had no problems with him at all".
Courthouse security concerns The shooting deaths of three people in a courthouse by Nichols led to intense debate about the state of security in public buildings, especially courtrooms.
An episode of American Justice titled "Murder in the Court" deals with famous legal-related murders including the one done by Brian Nichols and the attack on the Chicago federal judge. American Justice is an hour-long criminal justice program on the cable channel A&E Network, hosted by Bill Kurtis. ...
Sources - ^ Erin Curry. "Culture Digest: Ashley Smith gave kidnapper crystal meth, she says in book", Baptist Press, Sep 28, 2005. Retrieved on Jan. 22, 2007
- ^ a b "Shooting suspect’s hostage: I gave him meth", The Associated Press, Sept 27, 2005. Retrieved on Jan. 22, 2007
- ^ Harry R. Weber. "Judge Seeks Nichols Military Records", Associated Press, Jan 26, 2007. Retrieved on Jan. 28, 2007
- ^ Beth Warren. "Brian Nichols' Attorneys say they have no funds left", The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Sep 17, 2007. Retrieved Sep. 23, 2007
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