Iraq war veteran who pointed gun at Boise police makes plea deal

[sabra]

Source: idaho statesman

An Iraq War veteran accused of shooting into two locked apartments before getting into an armed confrontation with Boise police officers this summer pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of unlawful discharge of a firearm into an occupied dwelling.

In exchange for the guilty plea, Ada County prosecutors dropped four counts of assault or battery of a law enforcement officer and one count of using a weapon in the commission of a felony filed against George Nickel Jr.

A sentencing hearing for Nickel - who has been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder - is scheduled for Feb. 1 in front of 4th District Judge Deborah Bail.

The maximum possible penalty for the charge of firing into an occupied dwelling is 15 years in prison.

...

Nickel's former commanding officer and one of his fellow soldiers say his behavior must have something to do with the physical or mental injuries he sustained in February 2007, when he suffered a broken leg and shrapnel in his face in a roadside bomb explosion that killed three Idaho soldiers.

Nickel was the only one of his group to come out alive.

Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/1001409.html

[clear eye]

1. Necessary reminder of what war really is

hidden in the local papers all over the country. Rec'd.

[C_Lawyer09]

2. Oh my frigging god!

That is one of my best friends from way back when. We came back into the military together in 1994. He was hands down one of the best Soldiers that I ever served with. While he was on active duty, we were Parachute Riggers together. I knew he was a prison guard in Idaho, and I think, a Combat Engineer, in the Idaho Guard. I knew peripherally that he suffered injuries. I talked to him once, after he had sustained these injuries. I didn't know they were bad, he didn't let on. He is one of the best human beings that I ever had the pleasure to know. He would give the shirt off of his back to anybody. I'm in shock. I'm going to attempt to contact him. Please say a prayer, if not religious, keep him in your thoughts.

[Selatius]

3. In the end, he was just looking for his dog.

Now, he's probably going to spend years in prison. He needs psychiatric help, not a prison cell.

[Lurks Often]

4. May not see jail

I find it interesting that the prosecutor dropped the most serious charges, four counts of assault or battery of a law enforcement officer and one count of using a weapon in the commission of a felony, in exchange for a guilty plea on the least serious (or what appears to be the least serious) of the crimes. I suspect and hope that the judge will give him extended probation if he agrees to seek treatment/help.