Atlanta Shooter Brian Nichols Denied Bond

Nichols in Court, Denied Bond (News11)

The man wanted for fatally shooting four people, inciting a day-long manhunt and holding a woman hostage for 10 hours went before a judge Tuesday morning regarding charges from a previous case. Scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., the hearing for 33-year-old Brian Nichols ended shortly after the hour. He stands accused of rape, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated sodomy, false imprisonment, burglary and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, authorities said. Fulton County authorities have yet to charge Nichols with the four shooting deaths that occurred last Friday.

Nichols appeared at a magistrate courtroom located inside of the Fulton County jail for a status hearing regarding the rape trial, which he was brought to the county courthouse for last Friday. A handful of fully-armed Fulton sheriff̢۪s deputies, members of the special tactical unit, escorted Nichols into the courtroom, according to 11Alive Reporter Kevin Rowson. Wearing a navy blue jail uniform, Nichols walked into the courtroom with his feet shackled and his hands cuffed and chained around the waist. A total of 15 Fulton sheriff̢۪s deputies were in the courtroom at the time. Ten of them came from the special tactical unit and were armed, while five other sheriff̢۪s deputies did not have guns inside of their holsters.

While having a single female deputy guarding him was clearly inadequate, having an entire SWAT team might be a wee bit of overkill.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. BigFire says:

    A padded room with no instrument to aid in suicide should be plenty.

  2. Attila Girl says:

    They know they failed the exam, and they’re working for extra credit on their homework.