Criminal walks away at sentencing

MANSFIELD (AP) -- A convicted felon called a "nightmare" and "hard core" by authorities gave a defiant performance at his sentencing hearing, cutting off the judge who was lecturing him to shape up.
"You already gave me my six years. I'm done," William Nichols Jr. said Thursday as he walked away from Richland County Common Pleas Judge James Henson in handcuffs.
Minutes earlier, Judge Henson had told Nichols, 30, that he would serve six years in prison for two felony counts of intimidation of a crime victim or witness and one misdemeanor count of attempted intimidation of a crime victim or witness.
Last week, the judge found the Mansfield man guilty of threatening to harm witnesses in a case against his brother, Ryan, who was sentenced in July to 91/2 years for break-ins at more than a dozen businesses.
In court Thursday, William Nichols denied that he had threatened anyone and challenged Judge Henson to keep him out of prison.
"Since I'm so much of a violent person, maybe you could get me some counseling instead of sending me to the joint," Nichols said. "All you're gonna do is make me worse."
Assistant Prosecutor Chris Tunnell told the judge there was little chance of that, calling Nichols "as hard-core a criminal as you will ever have in this courtroom."
Nichols had a handful of previous felony convictions, mostly for receiving stolen property and theft, Tunnell said Friday.
Nichols made his exit from the court after the judge told him that only he would be able to change his life for the better.