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Saturday, March 12, 2005
Don Samuel: Trial should be moved
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If shooting suspect Brian Nichols is formally charged with murder, as expected, in Fulton County, his trial should be held somewhere else, a prominent Atlanta criminal defense attorney said.
“They need to move this case out of Fulton County and get a judge from out of Fulton County,” defense attorney Don Samuel said. Because Nichols allegedly killed Fulton Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, all of Barnes’ colleagues must recuse themselves from the case, he said.
Not only will there be enormous problems selecting an impartial jury because of pre-trial publicity, Samuel said, it also will be extremely difficult trying Nichols in the same courthouse with bailiffs who were colleagues of slain Sgt. Hoyt Teasley and Cynthia Hall, the deputy Nichols allegedly pistol-whipped. Samuel, emphasizing he was not being critical of anyone’s motives at the Fulton courthouse, said the case should be moved out of Atlanta to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
“The appearance is important as the process,” Samuel said. “That’s why we have a criminal justice system instead of vigilante justice.”
Samuel also questioned whether Fulton District Attorney Paul Howard should step aside and let another DA try the case, citing allegations that Nichols also was targeting the Fulton prosecutor who was trying him on rape and violent crime charges. “If I were giving Paul Howard advice, I’d say: Consider yourself a victim and let another DA try the case.”
Similarly, if Nichols is indicted on federal charges for killing slain U. S. immigration and customs agent David Wilhelm, this case also should be moved out of Atlanta, perhaps out of Georgia, to try and get an impartial jury, Samuel said.
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Feds file firearms charge against Nichols
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said that a federal criminal complaint was filed against Brian Nichols earlier today charging him with possessing a firearm while being under indictment.
This is little more than a “holding charge,” Nahmias said, to ensure Nichols’ detention while federal and state authorities decide what charges to bring next.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said Nichols also is expected to make his first court appearance during the early week. Howard also said he wanted to resolve the rape trial Nichols is accused of disrupting on Friday by fatally shooting trial judge Rowland Barnes, his courtroom stenographer Julie Brandau and deputy Hoyt Teasley.
Howard added that he expects to file formal charges against Nichols within the next 30 days, after allowing Atlanta police and other law enforcement agencies to complete their investigations.
Nahmias said his office would prosecute Nichols for the killing of David Wilhelm, assistant special agent in charge of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Atlanta. But he said Howard would take the lead in charging decisions.
“We’re examining all potential charges,” Nahmias said. “We’re less than 36 hours into this event. We’re going to do this in a very careful and cautious way.”
Kenneth Smith, special agent of ICE, called Wilhelm’s death “a tragic loss for the entire law enforcement community.” Wilhelm, whose brother Patrick also is an ICE special agent in Atlanta, was “an exemplary officer, a trusted colleague and a true friend,” said Smith, struggling to maintain his composure.
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Neighbors react to Barnes’ death
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Fulton County Sheriff’s deputy sat in his patrol car in the driveway of the College Park home of Judge Rowland Barnes. Family members declined to talk about Barnes or the news of Brian Nichols’ capture.
Barnes and his wife Claudia live in the Historic College Park area, about a mile from downtown College Park in south Fulton County.
Neighbors say they are relieved that Nichols is no longer at large.
“I’m glad he’s caught,” said 90-year-old Sallie Richey, who lives across Lyle Road from the Barnes home on Flowers Drive. Richey has lived on the block for 47 years, and knew Barnes for at least 35 years.
“I didn’t know anyone in this neighborhood who didn’t like him,” she said.
Across the street, Stephen Howard, 14, bounced a basketball in the street on a warm March Saturday afternoon. He said Barnes was kind to him.
“He always said ‘hey’ when he walked past,” Howard said. “He always worked in the yard with his wife.”
Wendy DeJong just moved onto Flowers Drive last summer, and she didn’t yet get to meet Barnes. But she was still shaken by his killing.
“A judge?” said DeJong, 36, a mechanic for Delta Air Lines. “A judge is a symbol of law and order and civility. It’s just the most heinous crime.”
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Carpenters find agent’s body
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The break that ultimately led authorities to Brian G. Nichols came Saturday morning when two carpenters showed up for work.
Brothers Felix and Martin Salazar, carpenters from Mexico, reported to work about 8 a.m. on a house being built by David G. Wilhelm, a high-ranking investigator with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Atlanta. Martin Salazar, 41, said in an interview that he and his brother saw a house door open and caught sight of Wilhelm’s body lying on the floor about eight feet away.
He said he and his brother called out “David! David!” but got no answer. He said Wilhelm lay on his back with his eyes open, hands resting on his chest. Salazar said they left without entering the house and called a contractor and talked with neighbors until police arrived. He said he and his brother noticed a small amount of blood in the garage but did not get close enough to Wilhelm’s body to have an idea about how he died.
Several weeks ago, when Wilhelm first met the Salazar brothers and learned they were from Mexico, he told them about a church mission trip he had taken to that country, Salazar said.
“He seemed like a good guy,” he said.
Salazar said he and his brother did not see Wilhelm’s pickup at the house, which apparently triggered a search by authorities. That pickup, a blue 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck, later turned up at the Gwinnett County apartments where police captured Nichols.
Salazar said he last saw Wilhelm alive about 5 p.m. Friday, when the two men chatted at the house Wilhelm was building. He said Wilhelm talked about the killings Friday of a judge, court reporter and sheriff’s deputy in downtown Atlanta.
“He said ‘Did you hear what happened? Somebody killed a judge and some other people,’” Salazar said in Spanish. “He was sad. He told us to be careful. He said there are a lot of crazy people out there.”
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Judge’s neighbors relieved suspect in custody
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Fulton County Sheriff’s deputy sat in his patrol car in the driveway of the College Park home of Judge Rowland Barnes. Family members declined to talk about Barnes or the news of Brian Nichols’ capture.
Barnes and his wife, Claudia, live in the Historic College Park area, about a mile from downtown College Park in south Fulton County.
Neighbors say they are relieved that Nichols is no longer at large.
“I’m glad he’s caught,” said 90-year-old Sallie Richey, who lives across Lyle Road from the Barnes home on Flowers Drive. Richey has lived on the block for 47 years, and knew Barnes for at least 35 years.
“I didn’t know anyone in this neighborhood who didn’t like him,” she said.
Across the street, Stephen Howard, 14, bounced a basketball in the street on a warm March Saturday afternoon. He said Barnes was kind to him.
“He always said ‘hey’ when he walked past,” Howard said. “He always worked in the yard with his wife.”
Wendy DeJong moved to Flowers Drive last summer, and she didn’t yet get to meet Barnes. But she was still shaken by his death.
“A judge?” said DeJong, 36, a mechanic for Delta Air Lines. “A judge is a symbol of law and order and civility. It’s just the most heinous crime.”
Permalink | Categories: Courthouse shooting
Defender says access to Nichols denied
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chris Adams, head of the office of the Georgia Capital Defender, tried unsuccessfully to visit Brian Nichols this afternoon at police headquarters and advise him of his rights.
“We were denied access to see our client,” said Adams, whose office represents indigent defendants facing state death-penalty charges. “We have a statutory mandate to represent people facing the the death penalty in Georgia. Mr. Nichols is facing the death penalty in Georgia.”
Nichols, who was arrested after turning himself over to authorities, has yet to appear before a judge.
Atlanta criminal defense attorney Dwight Thomas expressed certainty that prosecutors — both federal and state — will seek the death penalty against Nichols. The only question is where Nichols will be tried first, in Fulton County Superior Court or in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, he said.
Details of the capture
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Charlie Waters, Gwinnett County Police chief, held a press conference Saturday afternoon providing details of the capture of Brian Nichols Saturday morning at Bridgewater Apartments.
Waters said Nichols was in the apartment of a woman whom he did not know, a situation that he described as “stranger on stranger.” Nichols is believed to have come to the apartment randomly sometime during the night after federal agents say he killed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent David Wilhelm in a house in Buckhead. Wilhelm’s truck was found parked in the Bridgewater Apartments complex.
Waters said the woman, whom he did not identify, somehow escaped her apartment this morning and called 911 at about 9:50 a.m. She told dispatchers that Nichols was in her apartment. Gwinnett police, FBI agents and others responded to the scene and surrounded the apartment. Waters said Nichols gave up peacefully, waving a T-shirt to let police know he wanted to surrender. Waters said Nichols was watching television in the apartment, and saw the police swarming the area. Waters said they recovered weapons in the apartment.
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Suspect taken to City Hall East
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At about 1:20 p.m., Brian Nichols was driven from FBI headquarters in DeKalb County to Atlanta City Hall East, where Atlanta police have their homicide unit. He was booked for the murders of Judge Rowland Barnes, Deputy Hoyt Teasley and court reporter Julia Ann Brandau, as well as other charges. He was expected to remain in federal custody after the booking.
Nichols was taken into custody about 11:30 a.m. at an apartment complex in Gwinnett County. He was arrested without incident by Gwinnett County S.W.A.T. officers. He was handcuffed and driven under heavy guard to FBI regional headquarters, on Clairmont Road in DeKalb County, where he was charged with the murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent David Wilhelm, who was found shot to death in a house in Buckhead Saturday morning. Wilhelm’s blue pickup truck apparently was stolen by Nichols, who then drove it to Gwinnett.
Permalink | Categories: Courthouse shooting
