An Ohio man who a judge said used a 10-month-old child as a human shield and who a prosecutor said ignored a police officer's more than 200 requests to drop a knife during a November standoff at a Covington, Ohio, residence was sentenced Monday to four years in prison for kidnapping and resisting arrest.
Nathaniel Nichols, 24, was sentenced in Miami County Common Pleas Court. He earlier pleaded guilty to the two charges as part of a deal in which two other charges of kidnapping and one of aggravated burglary were dismissed.
He was charged following a Nov. 5 break-in of a Covington residence where his former girlfriend resided with two young children. They hid in a closet from an intruder, who turned out to be Nichols.
Police said they saw Nichols in the residence with a knife, yelling at the woman. When an officer identified himself, Nichols grabbed the one child from her mother and held it while refusing to put down the knife during a standoff of more than an hour. The children and woman were not injured. Nichols was injured by the knife while resisting arrest, police said.
During sentencing, defense lawyer Jeremy Tomb said Nichols took responsibility for his actions but also was despondent and believed the police could have “de-escalated” the incident in a different manner. Nichols said he understood the seriousness of what he did and realized he never should have put the woman and children in the situation he did.
Janna Parker, assistant county prosecutor, said Nichols was “trying to turn his crime into a mental health crisis.” An officer asked Nichols 255 times to put down the knife, she said.
Judge Christopher Gee reviewed Nichols’ juvenile and adult record, saying he showed a pattern of criminal offenses and of substance abuse.
"You used your 10-month-old child as a human shield … telling police they could not shoot you because you were holding her," Gee said. He said Nichols' attempts to portray himself as a victim of police and prosecutors justified the prison term.
Nichols will receive credit for 236 days spent in jail.
About the Author
