Items discovered after DWI arrest
A Castleton man pleaded guilty last Thursday to driving while intoxicated as well as stealing items totaling more than $67,000: two antique replica cannons worth $50,000, a $12,000 John Deere tractor and a $5,000 trailer full of hunting equipment and camping gear.
James Franklin Nicholson Jr., 53, had entered into a plea agreement – involving nine charges – with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, which Rappahannock Circuit Court Judge William Sharp accepted. Nicholson was sentenced to 80 years in prison, 75 years and five months of which were suspended.
Nicholson, who said he works in logging, masonry and landscaping, pleaded guilty to DWI, third offense, three counts of grand larceny, three counts of destruction of property or monument, one count of breaking and entering with the intent to commit assault and battery and one count of larceny of items $1,000 or more with the intent to sell.
The items, all reported stolen in July 2023, were discovered at Nicholson’s residence, 410 Castleton Ford Road, after he was arrested in April for driving while intoxicated on Richmond Road.
The most valuable items stolen were the two antique replica cannons, with a combined worth of over $50,000, according to a criminal complaint filed in Circuit Court. One of the cannon barrels was “cut up for scrap metal,” according to Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff. The other cannon – estimated to be worth around $20,000 – was sold intact for around $2,000.
The John Deere tractor, valued at $12,000, and multiple woodworking tools were stolen from a locked shed on a Rappahannock property, all of which were found at Nicholson’s residence, according to a criminal complaint. Nicholson was using the tractor, according to the complaint, and it had suffered “major damage” since it was stolen.
A trailer full of hunting and camping equipment was taken from the residence of Ronnie Compton, according to the criminal complaint. The trailer, valued at around $5,000 was recovered this year after law enforcement confirmed Nicholson had painted and sold it for $1,000.
After Nicholson is released, he will serve three years of supervised probation, and must maintain five years of good behavior after probation to keep the additional sentence suspended.
His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 10.
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