LARGO — A Pinellas County Sheriff's Office detention deputy accused of exposing himself outside his home pleaded no contest to a disorderly conduct charge Monday and was fined $500.
The charge against 48-year-old Deputy Wayne Nichols stemmed from a complaint made to the Sheriff's Office in May, said Assistant State Attorney Richard Ripplinger.
A woman walking home from a neighbor's house reported she saw Nichols "standing at the edge of his driveway, talking on a cell phone, not wearing any clothes," Ripplinger said.
Two other women said they had also witnessed that incident.
Addresses for law enforcement officers are exempt from public record disclosures.
The Sheriff's Office forwarded the information to the State Attorney's Office, which filed the disorderly conduct charge Oct. 1.
"There was no indication he was touching himself or participating in a lewd act," Ripplinger said.
Another woman made a second complaint in August, alleging Nichols was naked in his garage with the door open.
"Grandma doesn't need to be seeing that," Ripplinger said.
Nichols was arrested at his job at the Pinellas County Jail on a charge of failure to appear on Oct. 28 after he did not show up for a court appearance Oct. 26.
Nichols, who was hired by the agency in December 1999 and earns $51,264 annually, is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation by the Sheriff's Office, said spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda.
Nichols declined to comment, but Barreda said he had denied the allegations.
"This was kind of a he-said, she-said," Barreda said. "Someone claimed he was not wearing clothing and he alleged the opposite."
Records show Nichols retired as a security specialist from the Air Force in 1999 after 20 years of service. He has received consistent positive evaluations since joining the Sheriff's Office.
On Monday, Pinellas County Judge Paul Levine agreed to withhold adjudication in the case.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Deputy Wayne Nichols was hired by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office in December 1999. An article Tuesday was incorrect on when he was hired.
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