Man Sentenced for Running Over Franklin Cop

A Columbia man has been sentenced to five years in prison for running over a Franklin Police officer in 2022.

As previously reported in August, a three-day jury trial found 28-year-old Roy Gene Nicholson, III guilty of reckless aggravated assault, evading arrest with a deadly weapon (vehicle), possession of marijuana with the intent to sell, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.

Nicholson was arrested in 2022 after he fled from a traffic stop on Interstate 65, and in doing so, ran over Franklin police officer, now Sergeant, Dustyn Stevens.

Sgt. Stevens testified both during the trial and the Oct. 28 sentencing hearing where he spoke of both the personal and professional impacts that the incident has had on him.

Stevens testified about his continued physical and emotional pain from the 2022 incident, and said that he had been subjected to “constant slander and liable” by the defense who “labeled me as a racist, as a violator of brides, as someone that targets African American males,” in what he characterized as a “humiliation.”

“It's certainly a hard pill to swallow, knowing that I spent more time and Vanderbilt [University Medical Center’s] emergency [room] than the defendant was in custody,” Stevens said.

Nicholson remained free on a $40,000 bond following his conviction, but following his sentencing, that bond was revoked by the bonding company. The court then imposed a new $1,000 bond which was made by his family after he was briefly placed into custody and then released.

Nicholson's mother and girlfriend testified as character witnesses for the defendant.

Williamson County Circuit Judge Deanna B. Johnson made that ruling in order to give the opportunity for Nicholson to get his affairs in order and continue to financially support his girlfriend who is weeks away from birthing the couple's second child.

"I'm going to show you some grace on this reporting issue because I know you've got a baby coming," Johnson said, and ordered Nicholson to turn himself in on Jan. 2, 2025.

In June of 2022, Nicholson was also indicted on federal charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 

According to court documents filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, prosecutors are moving to dimiss the federal charges following Nicholson's state sentencing.

"Sergeant Stevens not only faced both a physical and emotional battle on April 24, 2022, but as both a police officer and victim in the case, was forced to relive this trauma repeatedly during court proceedings for over two years," Assistant District Attorney Carlin Hess told the Williamson Scene in an email. 

"We’d do well to remember that crime victims are often forced to do the same every day while navigating the waters of our criminal justice system. I am thankful for not only Sergeant Stevens’ courage and resolve in doing so, but also for those thousands of crime victims who do so throughout our country in courtrooms every day in hopes of getting to the truth and helping achieve justice”

Nicholson's defense attorney E. Kendall White IV declined to comment on the outcome of his client's state case, but previously told the Williamson Scene that he will appeal the ruling.