A 45-year-old Gosport man was arrested June 3 after reportedly striking his girlfriend with a rock, attempting to run someone off the road with his semi, and driving while suspended with a prior conviction of driving while suspended within 10 years.

Deputy James Carpenter of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report made regarding Rex Nichols at the Worthington Police Department. Carpenter went to Nichols’s place of employment to speak to him about the incident.

Nichols said he and the victim rode to his place of employment together that day. He said the two were arguing about a sim card. He said she called a friend to come pick her up and walked off the property. After walking off property, the victim said she stood under a tree waiting for her friend to pick her up when Nichols got into his semi and pulled alongside the road and asked her for the sim card. She said she had hidden the sim card in her backpack in a wooded area because she knew he was going to ask for it. 

The victim, according to the probable cause affidavit, told Nichols she had the card and would get it.  Nichols had gotten out of his semi and was following the victim. She then took off running. She said she put her hands behind her head and Nichols struck her with a rock. During this time, her shoe fell off. Inside the shoe was an extra car key. She said Nichols picked up her shoe and the key and went back to his truck while she ran off.

She said she purchased the car three days prior and if Nichols doesn’t have access to a key, he disconnects the relay switches so it cannot be driven. She said he told her she was never getting her car back again and threatened to kill her family when he got out of jail. 

When the victim’s friend was en route to pick her up, he recognized Nichols semi traveling north in the southbound lane of State Road 67 in his lane of traffic. The friend said he believed he was going to get hit head on and pulled all the way to the shoulder to avoid an accident. About a half mile down the road, he saw the victim flagging him down. After picking up the victim, he noticed the semi again, this time traveling south, revving up the engine as it came towards his vehicle. He said he “floored it” onto County Road 100 W from State Road 67, driving north to avoid the semi. 

The friend reported that once in the vehicle, the victim received several calls from Nichols and again told her he was going to kill everyone in her family.

While running Nichols’s license, Deputy Carpenter noticed his license was suspended with a prior conviction of driving while suspended within the last 10 years. When asked about this, Nichols said he was not aware his license was suspended. According to the probable cause affidavit, he was found guilty of driving while suspended in Owen County Circuit Court on July 7, 2018. 

He was charged with: 

• Domestic Battery, a Class A Misdemeanor

• Intimidation, a Class A Misdemeanor

• Criminal Recklessness, a Class B Misdemeanor

• Driving While Suspended: Knowing Violation and Prior Conviction within 10 Years, a Class A Misdemeanor

Nichols was booked into Greene County jail with Deputy Carpenter as the arresting officer. His bond was set at $3,500 surety with 10 percent cash allowed.