Eric Francis Nicholson served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 3 years and 11 months. Eric served during the years of the Cold War and Gulf War.
Trooper Eric Nicholson was shot and killed while attempting to stop a bank robbery suspect on Interstate 85 and Woodruff Road in Greenville.
Around noon, Trooper Nicholson observed the suspect driving a motor scooter on Interstate 85 and attempted to stop him. The driver pulled into an industrial parking lot, and before Trooper Nicholson was able to exit his cruiser, the suspect opened fire. Trooper Nicholson was shot several times. The suspect then fled the scene in a getaway vehicle with an accomplice. Trooper Nicholson was flown to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Officers traced the vehicle tag to a residence and attempted to arrest the suspect. Those officers were then engaged in a shootout and a car chase that left another deputy injured. The suspect was shot and wounded after being cornered on a dead-end road and taken into custody.
The suspect, with warrants for multiple robberies, was sentenced to death in January 2002. In 2026, his death sentence was temporarily set aside due to mental illness. He was also convicted of shooting the deputy and additional charges, and sentenced to 138 years. His accomplice was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Trooper Nicholson was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had served with the South Carolina Highway Patrol for 2-1/2 years.
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In tribute
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Trooper Nicholson gave the South Carolina Highway Patrol 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of South Carolina, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
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