PONTIAC (WWJ) — A convicted felon from Pontiac is facing federal charges for allegedly bringing a gun to a basketball game at a Pontiac school last weekend.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department arrested Cleve Nichols III, 34, on Saturday, Oct. 12 for bringing a loaded handgun to the school’s gymnasium and threatening to shoot people, according to a complaint filed by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The school was not identified in the complaint and authorities did not disclose the age of the kids playing in the game.
In the complaint, federal authorities say a 911 caller told police a man wearing camouflage pants and a black hooded sweatshirt had a gun hanging out of his pocket.
A school employee told investigators that Nichols “was upset with one of the coaches,” according to the complaint. That employee stood in front of Nichols and he asked them to move. They told Nichols to “consider the children,” the complaint said. But when the employee would not move, Nichols exited the gym.
The employee said about 50 people were in the school at the time, with about 25-30 of them being children.
One witness told police they saw Nichols arguing with one of the coaches and he had his hand in his pocket when he yelled “I’ll air this place out.” Another witness said they heard Nichols yelling at the coach that he would air him out and “air out this b****.”
The complaint says when Nichols left the gym he placed the gun under someone else’s car. Police recovered the gun after arresting Nichols outside the school.
Nichols initially told police during an interview that he did not have a gun and asked for an attorney. About 10 minutes after the interviewers left the room, he knocked on the door and said, “I wouldn’t try and go up to the school and hurt nobody,” according to the complaint.
He then waived his right to speak without an attorney present and eventually said that he was a felon who could not possess firearms and eventually admitted to having the recovered firearm in his pocket while in the gym. He also admitted that when he observed the police arrive, he hid the gun under the truck in the parking lot, according to the report.
Officials say Nichols has three prior convictions:
• In 2012 he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance
• In 2013 he pleaded no contest to assault with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 1-to-8 years in prison.
• In 2023 he pleaded no contest to domestic violence and/or knowingly assaulting a pregnant person.
Nichols faces a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. However, offenders could be sentenced to a minimum of 15 years without parole if they have three or more prior felony convictions.
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