Woman Found Not Guilty In Elementary School Bomb Hoax

TRUSSVILLE, AL - A woman who was charged in connection to a fake bomb that was left at Magnolia Elementary School in Trussville in 2016 has been found not guilty in federal court. Ralphel Maurie Edwards, one of four people charged in the hoax, was acquitted by the federal jury last week. Three others charged in the incident all pleaded guilty. According to court records, the bomb hoax was part of a conspiracy to distract police so they could rob BBVA Compass in Trussville.

According to a report from the Trussville Tribune, Zachary Edwards and Ralphel Maurie Edwards were charged with conspiring in November of 2016 to take money from a BBVA Compass Bank in Trussville by “force, violence, and intimidation.” The two are accused of placing a hoax bomb at Magnolia Elementary School in Trussville to divert police away from the banks.

Zachary Edwards pleaded guilty. Quinese Nichole Nichols, 30, of Birmingham, entered her plea Wednesday before U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala to conspiracy to take money from a BBVA Compass Bank in Trussville by “force, violence and intimidation” on Nov. 16, 2016. She also pleaded guilty to conspiring to carry a firearm in furtherance of bank robbery. Her sentencing date has not been set.
Quinese Nichols’ brother, Wendell Roy Nichols, Jr., 27, also of Birmingham, pleaded guilty to the bank robbery conspiracy.

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