PONTIAC, Mich. – A man was arrested for bringing a gun to a school basketball game in Oakland County.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office responded to a school gymnasium in Pontiac on Oct. 12 for reports of a person with a gun.
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While officers were heading there, they learned the suspect was threatening to shoot people attending a school basketball game with a pistol hanging out of his pocket. The school gym was barricaded while the suspect was outside the gym.
When they arrived, they found the suspect—Cleve Nichols III— walking from the north side of the gym towards a car. Officers approached him and arrested him.
Witnesses told officers that Nichols was arguing with one of the coaches when he had his hand inside his front pocket and yelled, “I’ll air this place out.” Witnesses saw Nichols pull a handgun halfway out of his pocket.
Several witnesses told police Nichols put the gun under a pickup truck and walked away.
On Oct. 14, authorities interviewed Nichols. He initially said he did not have a gun and asked for an attorney.
About 10 minutes later, Nichols told authorities, “I wouldn’t try and go up to the school and hurt nobody.”
Authorities said Nichols invoked the right to have an attorney present for them to continue discussing his arrest. When Nichols waived the right to speak without an attorney present, he said he was a felon who could not have a gun but eventually admitted that he had a gun on him while he was at the gym on Oct. 12. He also admitted to police that he hid the gun under a truck in the parking lot.
Law enforcement learned Nichols had the following felony convictions in the past:
- Pleaded guilty in 2012 to felony possession of a controlled substance under 25 grams
- Pleaded no contest in 2013 to assault with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to one to eight years
- Pleaded no contest in 2023 to domestic violence and knowingly assaulting a pregnant individual; Third offense notice and a felony
Nichols is facing a federal charge for Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
