Additional charges have been filed against each of the four men accused of murdering Robert Andrew "Drew" Nichols and dumping his body on a rural road in Social Circle.
Nichols body was found by a deer hunter on Dec. 6. The 38-year-old was partially covered by debris and investigators say he had not been heard from in approximately a week. Time of death and exact cause of death are still being withheld, with the time of his death a little harder to determine due to cool temperatures.
On Dec. 8 investigators from the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations and Walton County Sheriff’s Office, arrested their first suspect, 31-year-old Michael Scott West, and charged him with murder. The next day three other men were arrested as well; 30-year-old Chad Ashley Allen, 35-year-old Robert Vincent Lambert and 45-year-old Sam Dumas Dawkins. All were initially charged with murder.
Since their arrests, each of the accused murderers have been additional charged. All four have been charged with concealing the death of another, aggravated battery, possession of arms by a convicted felon, possession of firearm or knife while trying to commit crimes and kidnapping. Allen, Lambert and Dawkins have all been charged with aggravated assault.
Lambert has been additionally charged with probation violation (the original offense was theft by receiving and possession of methamphetamine), criminal damage to property in the second degree and arson in the first degree.
Dawkins has been charged additionally with possession of schedule II [narcotics] with intent, trafficking in methamphetamine, theft by receiving stolen property and possession of methamphetamine with intent.
Investigators also confiscated a shed that was located on one of the men’s property — though Oliver declined to identity which man, and a burned Mustang was located on a back road in Morgan County fully engulfed in flames. In the belief that the vehicle had been involved in the case, it was taken in for processing. Both the shed and the car were taken to the GBI Crime Lab.
The investigation into a motive is ongoing. More arrests and additional charges in this case may be pending.
