Attorney: Slain judge said suspect could be dangerous
Atlanta police seek help from public, offer $60,000 reward
 |  Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rowland W. Barnes had worried about the defendant. |
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|  VIDEO |
 Authorities search for a suspect after a judge is fatally shot.
 How authorities and judges deal with threats.
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| TIP LINE | Police ask anyone with information to call 404-730-7983 or 404-730-7984.
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| CHARGES AGAINST NICHOLS | Rape
False imprisonment
Aggravated sodomy
Aggravated assault with intent to rape
Burglary
Possession of a firearm during commission of a felony
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ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rowland W. Barnes told attorneys Thursday that he was concerned rape suspect Brian Nichols could pose a danger if he was convicted, the suspect's attorney said Friday evening.
The judge pledged to bolster security for the remainder of the trial after a sheriff's deputy found two makeshift weapons in Nichols' shoes on Wednesday.
The judge and two others were killed Friday after Nichols wrestled a gun away from a sheriff's deputy then went into a courtroom and shot Barnes and court reporter Julie Ann Brandau. (Full story)
As he escaped, Nichols fatally shot deputy Sgt. Hoyt Teasley, who was pursuing him outside the building.
Cynthia Hall, the deputy who was injured when Nichols overpowered her to steal her sidearm was in critical condition, but was expected to survive, said Jeffrey Salamone, attending trauma surgeon at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Police said the suspect carjacked at least five vehicles after he fled the Fulton County Courthouse.
Signs over Atlanta highways said police were looking for a green Honda Accord with a Georgia license plate 6584YN.
That car was found hours later in the same garage where a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was assaulted and his car stolen after the shootings. The garage is a few blocks from the courthouse.
A search for Nichols is under way in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and the Carolinas.
By Friday night, the reward for information leading to Nichols' capture was $60,000, and Atlanta police asked the public for help in locating him.
Nichols is described as being a black male, 33 years old, about 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighing 210 pounds.
Nichols' defense attorney, Barry Hazen, told CNN on Friday evening, "It wasn't really a surprise because there had been an incident a couple days ago."
Hazen described how a sheriff's deputy had found the contraband in each of Nichols' shoes, raising concern about the danger he might pose.
"The objects looked to be like heavy hinges, and one of them had a piece of material -- cloth -- strung through a hole in the object," he said.
The judge met with Hazen and prosecutors Thursday morning and "everyone expressed concern about security," Hazen said.
"Judge Barnes indicated to us that he was going to have security in the courtroom beefed up for the remainder of the trial," Hazen said. "We were most concerned what reaction we would get if a jury were to convict him."
Two deputies were added to provide extra security in the courtroom. It was not immediately clear if they were in the courtroom Friday morning.
Hazen, who was not in the courtroom at the time of the shooting Friday, said he had only seen one additional deputy in court Thursday. "I didn't get the sense that they were covering him any more closely than they had covered him before."
Asked if the judge had done anything that might have provoked Nichols, Hazen said he believed Barnes was "giving him a very fair trial."
"When there were objections that could have gone one way or the other way, they usually went Brian's way," Hazen said.
Nichols was on trial for charges of rape, aggravated sodomy, false imprisonment, aggravated assault with intent to rape, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and burglary against a woman he dated for more than seven years.
He was accused of binding his ex-girlfriend -- an executive at a Fortune 500 company -- with duct tape and assaulting her over a three-day period last fall. Howard also said Nichols brought a loaded machine gun into her home and threatened her, her family and her boyfriend.
Nichols had claimed the sex was consensual.
His first trial began two weeks ago, but ended in a hung jury. The second trial began Monday and the jury was expected to begin deliberations Friday afternoon.
"I think he realized he might be convicted this time -- that he might not get a chance to walk out. And we believe he came with the intent of making sure that that didn't happen," Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard told reporters.
He faced a maximum sentence of life in prison, plus five years, if convicted.
Hazen, who has represented Nichols since December, said his client had "never indicated to me that he was violent or that he would likely be violent toward me." The defense attorney said he had not yet arrived in the courtroom when the shooting occurred.
"If the allegations are true, then he's capable of doing just about anything," he said.
Jury foreman: State didn't prove case
The jury foreman from the first trial told CNN that most jurors believed Nichols to be guilty, but prosecutors failed to prove their case.
"There was a hung jury because the majority of us on the jury did not believe the state had proven to us beyond a reasonable doubt that the seven counts against him had occurred," said the foreman, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He said some jurors even contemplated writing Howard's office to "express our frustration at how poorly both the police investigation and the district attorney's office had conducted the investigation and trial."
The foreman also said jurors were impressed by the suspect's appearance and intellect. "He seemed like a pretty logical, intelligent, articulate person."
Nichols' only other criminal record was a misdemeanor count of burglary more than a decade ago.
Nichols briefly attended college at Kutztown University, about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he played linebacker on the school's Division II football team. He left the school after three semesters, heading for another college in his native South Carolina.
According to The Associated Press, Nichols' last known job was as a computer technician for a subsidiary of UPS. Company spokesman Norm Black told the AP that Nichols worked there between March and September 2004.
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
