19/04/2020
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Herbert Niccolls, the 12-year-old who shot and killed Asotin County's (Washington) sheriff.
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About 1 a.m. on August 5, Niccolls broke into Peter Klaus's People's Supply Store in Asotin, intending to steal candy and ci******es. But within minutes Sheriff John Wormell knocked on the door at the front of the store. Wormell was a 72-year-old former state representative, four-term sheriff, and descendant of one of the first settlers in Asotin County. "Come on out," he said. "I am the sheriff of Asotin County" (Lewiston Tribune). Receiving no response, Wormell entered the store. With him was Peter Klaus, the store owner. Waiting outside were Deputy Charlie Carlisle and Deputy Sheriff Wayne Bezona. Wormell and Klaus began to search the store. Someone turned on the light. Niccolls, hiding behind a vinegar barrel, panicked. He jumped to his feet and fired at Wormell, who was standing less than five feet away. The bullet struck Wormell in the head, killing him instantly: "Wormell fell in his tracks without an outcry, his gun in his hand" (Lewiston Tribune).
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The incident stunned the small town and a mob threatened to hang him. Both the crime and Herbert Niccolls's eventual sentence of life imprisonment at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla drew national attention. Herbert Niccolls, who'd become a celebrity as a prisoner, found the transition to the outside difficult. After clashing with his boss at the bakery, he was soon fired and faced revocation of his parole. Former Gov. Martin came to the rescue again, persuading the parole board to give Niccolls a second chance and helping him get a job in the accounting department of a Tacoma shipyard. This time the job took, and Niccolls excelled. Always gifted at math and interested in movies, Niccolls ended up working for 20th Century Fox in Hollywood, ushering the company into the computer age, and later writing screenplays and living a crime-free life. He died of a heart attack in 1983.
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