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Show JURY FINDS BILL NICHOLS, NOT GUILTY After an all-day trial in Justice Jus-tice Court last Friday, a jury of four men found Shirl W. (Bill) Nichols not guilty of assault as-sault and battery. Mr. Nichols had been charged in a complaint com-plaint signed by Jed Thomas, after Mr. Thomas was struck about the neck with a rope while riding a motor bike on North Main street, July 20. Testimony for the prosecution prosecu-tion alleged that Mr. Nichols had tied a rope to a pickup truck, stretched the rope across the street, and as a result Mr. Thomas suffered severe rope burns about the neck and face. The defense claimed that Mr. Nichols, after earlier attempting attempt-ing to stop motorcyclists who were disturbing his sleep, was merely trying to stop Mr. Thomas to talk with him. Prosecution witnesses Don Mayer, City Marshal Cliff Cook and Mr. Thomas testified that Mr. Thomas had not previously previous-ly ridden the bike, and that he didn't see the rope excepc "something white in the air just as it struck me." Defense vitnesses, Mr. Nichols, his wife and daughter Sharon, testified that Mr. Nichols tied a black and white nylon rope to the bed of the truck, then walked into the street holding one end of the rope coiled in his hand, and waved his arms vigorously in an attempt to stop Mr. Thomas. Seeing Mr. Thomas was not stopping, he said, he throw the rope in the air in an effort to avoid slrinking the cyclist, and the rope caught on the arm of his daughter Sharon, Shar-on, keeping it from going high enough into the air to miss Mr. Thomas. Time of the occurrence was about 11:30 p .m. Justice of the Peace George Rich of Beaver, called to hear the case when the defense attorney at-torney alleged he could not get an impartial trial before Milford Mil-ford Justice E. L. Smith, instructed in-structed the jury , on agreement agree-ment of both attorneys, that if they returned a guilty verdict they must feel, without a reasonable reas-onable doubt ,that Mr. Nichola intended to harm Mr. Thomas. Mr. Nichols testified that he had telephoned City Marshal Eddie Patterson, asking him to stop the cycle riding, and Mr. Patterson advised him to call Marshal Cook, as Patterson was off duty. Mr. Nichols said he did not call Marshal CfloX until after the accident '. Attorney John McCoy represented repre-sented the City of Milford, and Mr. Eliason of Delta was attorney at-torney for the defense. Members Mem-bers of the jury were Ted Rim-pau, Rim-pau, Bill Baker, Melvin Bradshaw Brad-shaw and Dave Reese. |