A Mississippi man is jailed in Pennsylvania after police say he shot at motorists on Interstate 81 and assaulted a woman who was traveling with him.
Edward Jackson Nickens, who will be 32 on June 14, was arrested June 2 on I-81 in Franklin County and charged with attempted homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault and other counts, according to online court records. Magisterial District Judge Jody Eyer denied bail.
Troopers responded after Pennsylvania State Police received a report that a man had a woman pushed up against a tractor-trailer on the side of the highway near mile marker 21 in Greene Township, according to court documents. The woman was “hysterical” when troopers arrived.
She gave a written statement detailing the ordeal she went through while traveling with Nickens, her boyfriend.
They were at a Pilot truck stop in Hagerstown, Md., earlier that day when Nickens went to a nearby gun store and bought ammunition for his gun, according to court documents. He also bought two pints of Jack Daniels at a liquor store and began drinking it upon returning to the Pilot.
The woman told Nickens he could not drive while drinking alcohol, and he became upset and began loading his Ruger handgun.
Nickens, of Lambert, Miss., pointed the gun at the woman and threatened to kill her and her family, according to court documents. He said if she left the cab, he would shoot her in the back of her head.
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Still at the truck stop, Nickens shot the gun once in the air and once into the grass near a worker who was picking up trash, according to court documents.
They then left the Pilot and began traveling north on I-81. The woman told police she recalled seeing a sign that said “Welcome to Pennsylvania,” and later a number of police and other emergency responders at a weigh station.
Firefighters and police were in the area that afternoon because a brush fire was threatening the interstate. The southbound lanes were shut down between Exit 10/Marion and Exit 5/Greencastle for a short time.
As they were traveling near the area, Nicken put his window down and fired rounds at passing vehicles, the woman told police. It is unclear if any vehicles or people were hit.
Nickens eventually pulled the truck over and demanded that the woman change seats. When she refused, Nickens punched her in the right side of her face then pointed a gun at her head and told her she was going to die if she didn’t move, according to court documents.
The woman complied, and Nickens put the gun on the dashboard. The woman grabbed it and threw it out the window, according to court documents.
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Nickens grabbed the woman and pulled her out of the truck. He retrieved the gun and tried to force the woman back in the truck, but she refused.
Nickens fired a shot at the woman’s head, according to court documents. He missed, and she broke free of his grasp and ran. He chased her around the tractor-trailer before getting in and driving northbound, leaving the woman on the side of the highway.
The woman told police they arrived a few minutes after Nickens left.
Troopers found Nickens about three miles north, around mile marker 24, according to court documents. They saw live rounds of ammunition in the cab of the truck. Nickens’ eyes were bloodshot and he had difficulty walking and moving.
Police executed a search warrant of the truck and found two bottles of Jack Daniels, one of them empty, a black Ruger 9mm handgun hidden in a sneaker behind the driver’s seat and a 50-round box of ammunition for that type of gun, according to court documents.
There were 30 rounds left in the box. The gun’s seven-round magazine was loaded with four rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. One spent shell casing was found beside the sneaker that the gun was hidden in. Four live rounds were found in the center console and one was on the dash. According to police, there were nine rounds unaccounted for.
In addition to attempted homicide, kidnapping and aggravated assault, Nickens was also charged with terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, simple assault and reckless endangerment, and was cited for traffic violations including DUI, according to online court records.
Nickens’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 13.
Amber South can be reached at [email protected].
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