Man arrested after carjacking, police chase, shootout released without bond
By Deja DavisJerrita Patterson,
2024-09-18
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man arrested in connection to the carjacking that led to a chase and shootout with police on Monday walked away free from jail without bond on Wednesday.
The state asked for bond to be set at $100,000, saying Nichols could face more charges. Nichols’ public defender asked that he be released with no bond — and Judge Christian Johnson agreed.
“I don’t see why ROR is not appropriate,” Johnson said, saying he’s not considering what could happen, but was only looking at the two current charges, one of which is a misdemeanor.
Nichol’s long standing in the community led Judge Johnson to release him on his own recognizance, which means nothing has to be paid.
That decision led to a Facebook from state Sen. Brent Taylor, a frequent opponent of ROR release.
Taylor wrote , “I’m mad as hell! … There is NO way a defendant connected to a violent carjacking and who is involved in a police shooting is not a danger to the community under my new bail law.”
District Attorney Steve Mulroy released a statement saying his office had argued for a higher bond.
“Our office strongly advocated for a higher bond in this case, as we believe the suspect posed a significant threat to both public safety and the safety of officers. However, the judge ultimately decided to release the suspect on their own recognizance. While we respect the court’s decision, we disagree with it.”
After court, WREG spoke with Nichols’ sister, who says she came to court today defending her brother because “He is not that type of person. He is a good outstanding person.”
She says he has worked for the City of Memphis for three years now.
“He’s not a bad person at all. He just tries to be too loyal to his friends and don’t want to break off his connection with them, trying to be too loyal,” his sister says.
Nichols was allegedly driving a stolen Dodge Charger Monday afternoon with Tremayne French on the passenger side.
Officers spotted the carjacked vehicle near Watkins Street and Dellwood and attempted a traffic stop at that time. But, the driver refused to stop.
The Charger stopped at Frayser Boulevard and Adair Drive, where the suspects got out and ran east on Frayser Boulevard.
As officers pursued them on foot, they say one of the suspects fired shots at officers. Officers returned fire, striking the suspect.
French, 26, was pronounced dead on the scene by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and a weapon was found nearby. Nichols was caught after a brief pursuit.
Records show French pleaded guilty to carjacking in 2019. He also pleaded guilty in a 2018 robbery and was sentenced to six years.
Nichols was also a part-time City of Memphis employee. “We can confirm that at the time of the incident, he was a part-time employee in our Parks division,” a city spokesperson said Tuesday in an email. They had no further comment.
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This judge of one of our local judges. Many of whom have no juevos to hold criminals accountable. What’s wrong with Memphis? It’s in the news!
Maasi
28d ago
We always say they good people they got a good heart well good people go to jail when they do bad things or they should go to jail when they do bad things. The judges are are why Memphis has been given over to The Criminals
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