FAQ about Atlanta judgekiller Brian Nichols

Hat tip to Boortz for coming up with the timeline on this. From the Talkmaster:

How did Brian Nichols get the gun in the first place?

He overpowered a 51 year-old female deputy sheriff. Alone she escorted him into a holding where she took off his handcuffs so that he could change into street clothes for trial.

There seem to be a lot of details out there on how Nichols overpowered the deputy sheriff and got her gun.

That's because it was all caught on tape.

You mean there's a video?

Exactly. There was a surveillance camera in the holding area where the attack took place.

Was someone supposed to be monitoring the camera?

There were two officers in the command center who were supposed to be monitoring the surveillance cameras. If they were, they didn't see this attack. It would seem safe to assume that they weren't exactly paying close attention to the cameras.

Did the killer run from the courthouse after the shootings?

Now there's an interesting question. That's what everybody thought. After all, he did shoot an kill a Deputy Sheriff as he left the courthouse. Things got a big confusing though during a Friday afternoon press conference when Fulton County Sheriff Myron Freeman said that he "allegedly" ran from the courthouse. Allegedly? But then, the Sheriff used the "allegedly" word about six times in every sentence during his statements to the press. We may have questions about the abilities of the Sheriff of Fulton County and about his employees who protect the courthouse, but we now know that he sure does have a handle on the "allegedly" word.

Were citizens alerted to be on the lookout for a particular type of car?

Yes ... we were told all day Friday to be looking for a specific green Honda Accord.

Did they ever find the Honda?

Yup.

Where was the green Honda Accord?

It was right there in the parking garage next to the Courthouse. Right where the killer left it, and right smack in the middle of the largest concentration of law enforcement officers at that time in the entire Southeast. It took them 13 hours to find that Honda in the parking garage.

Did a police officer or sheriff's deputy finally find the Honda?

Nope. It was discovered by a co-worker of the Honda's owner late in the afternoon.

So, how did the killer flee the area?

Apparently he took MARTA, the rapid rail line, and headed North to Lenox Square.

Well, if he took MARTA, why didn't they catch him as he was getting on or getting off a train? Surely they took steps to watch MARTA stations for the killer as soon as the shootings happened, didn't they?

Uhhhhhh ... no, they didn't.

Why not?

Because they were too busy looking for the green Honda that was ...

...still parked in the courthouse parking garage, right?

Yup. The Honda seemed to be their entire focus. No need to be searching or watching MARTA stations. The Atlanta police chief, Richard Pennington, told the media: "We still thought he was still in the car. We had no reason to close down MARTA."

Where did Brian Nichols head then?

Apparently he got off the MARTA train at the Lenox Square Station. He certainly would have been a lot less conspicuous there than he would have been in Doraville.

What did he do next?

He accosted a woman on Lenox Road and forced her into her apartment. Her boyfriend was there. Nichols and the boyfriend got into a scuffle and Nichols ran.

Was this reported to police?

Yes, the woman and her boyfriend called 911 to report the incident.

And then?

Apparently the Atlanta police didn't make much of it. There's no indication that they made any connection to the courthouse murders. This incident happens within walking distance of a rapid rail station. Police could logically believe that a man, on foot, who accosts a resident near a rapid rail station might have arrived on a train from downtown. No special attention is paid to this report.

What does Nichols do next?

It would seem that he wandered around the Lenox Road area for a while until he came upon off-duty U.S. Customs Agent David Wilhelm. Wilhelm was working on a home he was building in the area. Nichols killed him and stole his truck.

When did police discover that Wilhelm had been killed?

A carpenter showed up at the house at 6:30 a.m., found the body and called the cops.

Where was Nichols at that point?

He had driven to Duluth, North of Atlanta, where, at two in the morning, he encountered Ashley Smith getting out of her car at an apartment complex. He forced her into her apartment. Ashley Smith, as it turns out, is a rather remarkable 26-year-old. Here's your link to read the remarkable story of what happened in Smith's apartment. In short, after almost eight hours he lets her go. As she is leaving the apartment Nichols hands Smith $40 he has in his pocket, telling her that he would be needing the money. He also asks here if there is anything he can do around the apartment, like hanging pictures or curtains, while she's gone. Smith leaves, calls 911, the SWAT team arrives, and Nichols surrenders.

Is there a reward for information leading to Nichol's arrest and conviction?

About $60,000, last I heard.

Who will get it?

Should it be anyone other than Ashley Smith? I don't think so.

Having family in law enforcement careers, I am usually loathe to second-guess officers in the course of doing their jobs. However, this looks like a monumental screw-up here, and I hope over the coming days, some law enforcement officers will attempt to come forward with some logical and rational explanations for what looks like a dropped ball.