Metro East man sentenced after bragging about high-speed chase on Facebook
CAHOKIA, Il. (KMOV.com) — A Metro East man has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison after leading police on a high-speed chase and bragging about it on Facebook.
Lee Nichols, 35, was driving a Corvette in Dupo on June 21, 2017, when an officer attempted to pull him over sometime around midnight.
Nichols fled, later saying in a Facebook post he reached speeds 120 miles per hour.
Police called off the pursuit for safety, but the officer recognized Nichols and applied for arrest warrants.
Nichols posted on social media two hours later about his escape, bragging about the chase.
A week later, he uploaded a video to Facebook talking about his pursuit and claiming he would do it again. He also threatened to hurt any officer who got in his way.
On July 16, an off-duty Dupo officer recognized Nichols in a bar in Columbia, Illinois.
The officer contacted on-duty cops and Nichols was arrested.
He had methamphetamine and a Colt .22 on his person during the arrest. Having been convicted of aggravated assault in 2003, Nichols was legally barred from owning a firearm.
Thursday, he was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison.