Bomber’s son gets attorney

The son of Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols appeared Friday morning in Las Vegas Justice Court to answer charges that he stole a 2008 Yamaha motorcycle.

Joshua Nichols, 26, told Justice of the Peace Abbi Silver that he couldn't afford an attorney, and Silver assigned him a Clark County public defender.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled on Dec. 1.

Joshua Nichols has several felony convictions for assault, theft and possession of a stolen vehicle.

His mother, Lana Padilla, said her son has a drug problem.

"He needs help," she said. "He has a lot of sadness."

She said she's received an outpouring of support from the community.

"There's a lot of people who care about Josh," she said. Nichols was living with her at the time of the latest incident.

According to a Las Vegas police report, Nichols persuaded a man with a motorcycle to give him a ride home on Nov. 7. They went briefly to another address and, while the man was inside the residence, Nichols took the motorcycle, the report says. The man didn't report the bike stolen for four days because he wanted to give Nichols a chance to return it, the report says.

Despite his run-ins with the law, Padilla said she hasn't stopped supporting her son.

"You love your children unconditionally," she said. "I've been there with Josh since the bombing in Oklahoma."

Terry Nichols is serving a life sentence for the 1995 bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.