The man who illegally owned the pistol that discharged and hit his 8-year-old great-niece in the head will not spend time in jail.
Magistrate Sandy Holepit sentenced Michael Nichols, who pleaded guilty in October to misdemeanor prohibited person in possession of a firearm, to a year in jail and suspended it for two years of unsupervised probation and 120 hours of community service. Nichols was also ordered to pay $4,600 in restitution for the child’s medical expenses.
“My inclination was to have you do some jail time,” Holepit said. “But I am charged with being just and fair and not emotional.”
Kristie Neely testified about how her daughter Chloey’s life has been altered forever after the bullet went through a wall and a chair, where one of her other daughters was sitting, before entering Chloey’s head — where it remains to this day.
Nichols testified he called 911 immediately after Chloey was shot on July 20, 2018, and was then interviewed by three law enforcement agencies over four hours.
The immediate focus was on saving Chloey’s life through surgery and Neely was told to prepare for the worst, she said. Chloey was put into a medically induced coma for a time.
“It was awful, the entire experience of watching my daughter hooked up to everything,” Neely said.
When she woke up, Chloey couldn’t feel the right side of her body but after a lot of physical therapy, she regained feeling. Some of her medical treatment required the family to move to Columbus, Ohio, for a few months, Neely said.
Chloey, now 10, is still in weekly therapy and will be for the rest of her life, Neely said. She will also never be able to have an MRI or play basketball — an accidental ball to the head could cause a lot of problems.
The incident also impacted Chloey’s two sisters, one of which is her twin. Neely said they are both afraid of loud sounds. She said hunting season and fireworks scare them now.
Neely asked Holepit to give Nichols the maximum sentence because he needed to fully understand the repercussions of his actions.
Nichols testified the incident was an accident and said it was “gut-wrenching.”
“I live with it every day. I can’t even stand,” he said before trailing off and taking a moment to compose himself. “I can’t even stand to look in the mirror most days.”
Nichols said he was unaware that a 1996 domestic battery conviction resulting from a fight with his adopted brother prohibited him from owning firearms in West Virginia. In fact, Nichols, who works on federal contracts for an airline company, has passed multiple background checks and his firearm ownership with the conviction had never been an issue.
These days, Nichols even has trouble looking at guns in movies and doesn’t want to own one again, he said.
Before offering her prays to everyone involved and adjourning, Holepit warned Nichols that if he violated his probation in any way, he would spend a year in jail.
