CLARK COUNTY — A city council member faces charges, including domestic violence, after a family fight.
Richard and Erin Nichols serve as city council members in Tremont City.
On Friday night, Richard was involved in a family dispute that started unexpectedly after a couple got back home.
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According to the incident report, a son and his girlfriend came home from work and let their dogs out. It was then that his father, Richard Nichols, who also lives in the house, started yelling.
The incident report also said arguments continued; Richard then pointed at a .357 caliber revolver in the area and fired a shot into the air.
The girlfriend was filming the incident, according to that report. When Richard realized she was recording, he aimed the gun at her head, and that is when the fight started outside the house.
According to the incident report, Richard “had her on the ground, hitting her and still had the gun in his hand,” and then the son began hitting his father.
Richard then stood up, and the girlfriend hit him in the head with a piece of metal from a trailer in the driveway. Once Richard got up, “He grabbed a shovel and began charging toward his son,” the incident report said.
Law enforcement then arrived at the scene.
News Center 7 recognized Richard’s name and found him to be a city council member of Tremont City. Reporter Ava Petrosky reached out to Tremont City Mayor Tony Flood for comment on the councilman’s status.
He said because it was a personal matter that happened on personal property, the city has no comment. His position will only be affected if he is convicted of anything.
The girlfriend did not want to go to the hospital for her injuries. Richard was treated at Springfield Regional Hospital, then taken to the Clark County Jail and charged with domestic abuse, felonious assault, and aggravated menacing.
He alleges that his son hit him with the shovel, but officers said that because his son acted in defense of his girlfriend, he cannot press charges.
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