Nichols’ son ordered into drug program

Erica D. Johnson

Wednesday, May 28, 2003 | 9:34 a.m.

A judge on Tuesday spared the son of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols from immediate prison time on a theft charge but ordered him into a drug treatment program.

District Judge Michael Douglas on Tuesday sentenced Josh Nichols to 12 to 34 months in prison, but suspended the sentence and placed Nichols on probation for 2 1/2 years.

"You've been afforded an opportunity to try and get a break," the judge told Nichols after handing down the sentence. "Take advantage of it, sir."

The sentence came after Nichols, 20, pleaded guilty in March to one count of attempted theft for taking a $600 scooter from Jay's Market, a convenience store at 8835 S. Eastern Ave.

Defense attorney Dominic Gentile said his client stole the scooter to support his drug habit.

"He's had a drug problem for four years," he said.

Nichols was 14 when his father was convicted in federal court and sentenced to a no-parole life sentence for his part in the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building that resulted in 168 deaths.

Gentile said Josh Nichols' reckless behavior is a result of emotional problems that surfaced after the tragedy.

"I think that caused it," Gentile said.

Nichols' theft charge marked the latest of several run-ins with the law since 2001. He was arrested on conspiracy to commit kidnapping, robbery and battery charges in April 2002, but he was never formally charged.

He was also arrested in February 2002 on burglary and grand larceny charges and in January 2001 on reckless driving and evading police charges.

Nichols has already failed to complete at least one of the terms of his probation on the most recent charge, despite several breaks by prosecutors.

In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped initial burglary and grand larceny charges. He was also ordered to attend out-of-custody Drug Court.

But Drug Court Judge Jessie Walsh issued a bench warrant for Nichols' arrest after he didn't show up for court proceedings.

He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on May 24, where he remained at the time of the hearing.

Gentile said Nichols didn't have transportation to and from Drug Court while his mother, Lana Padilla, testified at Terry Nichols' state court proceedings in Oklahoma.

If Nichols successfully completes probation and the drug treatment program, the offense will be reduced to a gross misdemeanor, Douglas said.

Otherwise, he faces a one- to four-year prison sentence.