Andalusia’s Nico Johnson appears in court

Andalusia two-sport standout and Alabama football signee Nico Johnson had his day in court Tuesday but will have to wait on a verdict.

Andalusia Municipal Court Judge Mike Jones elected not to rule Tuesday on Johnson’s “verbal, non-physical” misdemeanor harassment charge, stemming from an incident that involved a fellow male Andalusia High student in Andalusia on Sunday, May 3.

“He (the judge) didn’t rule from the bench,” said John Jones, Johnson’s attorney. “He took it under advisement. He could rule sometime this week.”

Johnson turned himself in to Andalusia police on May 5 after “a verbal, non-physical” misdemeanor harassment charge was issued by the local court magistrate following a complaint. He posted a $500 bond, according to a published report on al.com.

The charge is a Class C misdemeanor offense, which by state law is punishable by “no more than three months in jail and no more than a $500 fine.”
Johnson entered a not guilty plea and waived his arraignment to help speed up the process.

An initial court date was set for May 18 but postponed to Tuesday after the complainant didn’t show.

The complainant did show on Tuesday, and the trial lasted about 45 minutes to an hour. Both the complainant and Johnson took the stand along with several witnesses. All were questioned by prosecutor Patrick McCalman and Johnson’s attorney.

The judge’s move to hold off a decision is not an uncommon one, John Jones said.

“More times than not they make a ruling from the bench, but it is not out of the ordinary,” Jones said.

He did not say if it was favorable or unfavorable news for his client.