20-year-old daughter of Fred and Angie Nichols issued citation for drinking at Low Country Boil

By WILLIAM SNOWDEN
Editor

The 20-year-old daughter of Fred and Angie Nichols was issued a citation for misdemeanor charge of possession of alcohol by a person under 21 after she was seen with liquor at a local fundraiser.


Fred Nichols is a Wakulla County commissioner and is retired from the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office. His wife, Angie Nichols, is a former Wakulla teacher and a current candidate for Wakulla County School Board.
Questions about how the couple’s daughter obtained liquor at the Wakulla Chamber of Commerce’s Low Country Boil in April were investigated by the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office, in which Fred and Angie Nichols said they hadn’t received the over-21 bands and their daughter picked up some bands from the family’s table and, knowing she shouldn’t, went over the bar and was served liquor.
But that explanation was called into doubt of a one-off incident of poor judgment when the Sun was made aware of photos posted on social media of the Nichols’ daughters drinking at the Ducks Unlimited banquet a few weeks earlier.
Fred Nichols was on the Ducks Unlimited committee that organized the event.
Sara Clark, the local coordinator for Ducks Unlimited, said the underage drinking only came to her attention after the event. She expressed concern about the potential impacts of underage drinking at the event – including potentially losing the DU charter.
Clark said DU would be “working on new procedures to prevent this from happening in the future.”
Heather Bryan, executive director of the Chamber, issued a simple statement: ““We were promptly made aware of the underage drinking incident during our recent event and took swift action by informing the appropriate authorities. Moving forward the Low Country Boil will be exclusively for those aged 21 and over.”
Nichols told the Sun that some people were using the event for political ends. Asked about whether he had provided bands to his daughters, Fred Nichols threw up his hands and said, “Heck no! Do you think I’d do that?”
He provided a written statement to the newspaper that reads: “My adult child made a mistake and is dealing with the consequences. Unfortunately, there have been false rumors circulating about this incident and I am grateful to the Sheriff’s Office for their diligence in identifying those false allegations. I love my family and will always be there to support them. People make mistakes everyday. It’s how you learn and grow from those mistakes that make you a better person.”
Cameron McIver, the daughter of Fred and Angie Nichols, was at the Wakulla Chamber of Commerce’s Low Country Boil with her husband and friends after being urged to attend the event by her father, she said. She told a sheriff’s iinvestigator that she noticed a 21+ band on her family’s table and put it on, and that an older family member had left a drink cup on the table and she went to the bar and got a drink.
Someone in the crowd pointed out to a Chamber volunteer that she was underage and Chamber officials sought out deputies to verify her age.
When a deputy approached her and said he had heard there was underage drinking and asked if she was 21.
“Yes,” she reportedly said.
Asked for ID, she said it was in her truck. The deputy asked how she got the wristband if she had no ID.
She answered: “My dad is Fred Nichols, and he can tell you.”
Fred Nichols came walking up asking what the problem was. The deputy told him there was a report of underage drinking and if he could vouch for her being 21. Nichols responded, “I’ll escort them out.”
Nichols walked his daughter and wife out of the event.
A Chamber official told a deputy that Nichols had come up to another volunteer requesting two wristbands, saying he and his wife had not received them.
After completing the investigation, the sheriff’s office submitted it to Chief Prosecutor Andrew Deneen for review – unusual for a minor misdemeanor but no doubt due to the high profile of the people involved and the past connection to the sheriff’s office.
McIver is 20 years, seven months old, married, with two children. She is likely to qualify for a diversion, meaning if she stays out of trouble for a period of time, the criminal charge would be dropped.
There was speculation by some that the incident could make it difficult for the organizations to get a temporary liquor license in the future. For both the Chamber and Ducks Unlimited, the events are the big fundraisers for the year.
There was also concern that having deputies check IDs and band patrons at an event is a violation of the state law that prohibits law enforcement officers from being engaged in the sale of alcohol.
The deputies at the events are ostensibly hired to provide security.