Trooper Eric Francis Nicholson, 28, was killed in Greenville County in the winter of 2000 while on duty. On December 6, 2000, he attempted to stop a motorcycle linked to a bank robbery suspect. Before Nicholson could exit his patrol car the rider opened fire, striking him multiple times. He was airlifted to a local hospital and died of his wounds. Nicholson was a United States Marine Corps veteran who had served with the South Carolina Highway Patrol for two and a half years.

The motorcycle rider, identified as John Richard Wood, fled the scene, abandoned the motorcycle, and escaped in a getaway vehicle driven by a female accomplice. Citizens reported the getaway vehicle’s tag, leading officers to a residence where an attempt to arrest Wood led to a shootout; another deputy was injured. Wood was wounded, captured on a dead-end road, and his accomplice was also taken into custody.

Wood was tried for Nicholson’s murder and related offenses; in January 2002 a jury found him guilty and sentenced him to death. His accomplice received a 25-year prison term, and Wood received additional convictions in Anderson County totaling 138 years. Did anyone in Greenville County at the time have information about the robbery, the chase, or the getaway vehicle that could help fill gaps in the timeline?