Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

WATCH: Tragic day reminiscent of Brian Nichols case

AJC reporters didn’t just cover Brian Nichols’ deadly rampage at the Fulton County Courthouse; some unwittingly became victims in his trail of fear.
May 4, 2023

The intense manhunt for Deion Duwane Patterson was reminiscent of the widespread search 18 years ago for Brian Nichols.

On the morning of March 11, 2005, Nichols, on trial for rape and other felonies, overpowered a sheriff’s deputy and grabbed her gun. He shot and killed the judge in his trial, a court reporter and a police sergeant before escaping. While on the run, Nichols shot and killed federal immigration and customs agent.

He was apprehended the next morning in the Duluth apartment of a woman he had abducted.Nichols would stand trial for the murders and be found guilty on Nov. 7, 2008. But because the jury could not reach unanimity on a death sentence, deadlocking at 9-3 in favor, Nichols was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

»From the AJC archives: Four killed in 2005 courthouse rampage

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