A 79-year-old Washington Township man will spend the next decade or so in a prison cell for the felonious assault of his former neighbor.
The shooting happened in May of 2022 outside an Alliance Bellstores/Marathon gas station at 2491 W. State St. The suspect, Charles Reed, shot Larry Nichols, 58, at point-blank range.
Reed and Nichols were familiar with each other, spending the last five years in a neighborly dispute that stemmed from Nichols refusing Reed’s help in 2018.
The two crossed paths at the gas station on May 23 of last year. That’s when Reed pulled out a .380 pistol and shot Nichols, leaving him in the hospital for nearly seven months.
During his trial, Reed claimed self-defense, but the jury disagreed. The original charge of attempted murder was dismissed by the jury, according to court records. He was convicted and sentenced to nine to 12 years in prison for felonious assault with a firearm specification and menacing by stalking with a firearm specification.