Dr. Phil Bails Out Teen Beating Ringleader – Employees of Dr. Phil bailed out Mercades Nichols, the ringleader in the savage beating of cheerleader Victoria Lindsay by six girls who videotaped the beating and posted it on MySpace and YouTube.
Dr. Phil’s staff tried to downplay bailing out the teen beating ringleader, claiming that the show had a policy of helping guests with expenses incurred in getting on the “Dr. Phil” show.
Mercades Nichols, 17, pictured above is charged with battery and kidnapping, punishable by up to life in prison. She also faces an additional charge of tampering with a witness, which carries up to a five-year prison term.
Mercades Nichols is the blond girl seen in the cheerleader beating video below repeatedly hitting 16-year old Victoria Lindsay in the face with her fists while the already battered girl tries to leave the home where the six girls savagely beat her for more than 30 minutes.
Responding to media inquiries about why the Dr. Phil show would bail a vicious criminal out of jail to appear on the syndicated television show, “Dr. Phil” McGraw’s spokeswoman Terri Corigliano said in an e-mail:
“We have helped guests and potential guests in the past when they need financial assistance to come on the show — assisting with clothing allowance, lost wages, accommodations, travel and necessities,” Corigliano wrote. “In this case, certain staff members went beyond our guidelines (re the bail being paid).
“These staff members have been spoken to and our policies reiterated. In addition, we have decided not to go forward with the story as our guidelines have been compromised.”
The staff members involved in bailing Mercades Nichols out of jail were the show’s producers. The cheerleader beating video drew national media attention to the case and led the judge to issue a gag order on media statements by attorneys and the Lakeland, Florida sheriff.
Much was made in the local press about the accused girls smirking and laughing amongst themselves while being booked at the jail and during their first court appearance.
The six girls who beat cheerleader Victoria Lindsay for making deprecatory comments about them on her MySpace page – and the two boys who acted as lookouts while the beating took place – are all charged as adults in the case.
All eight youths face charges of battery and kidnapping, punishable by up to life in prison. They are Mercades Nichols, 17; April Cooper, 14; Brittni Hardcastle, 17; Kayla Hassell, 15; Brittany Mayes, 17; Cara Murphy, 16; Zachary Ashley, 17; and Stephen Schumaker, 18.
Nichols, Hardcastle and Mayes face an additional charge of tampering with a witness, which carries up to a five-year prison term.
Bail was not set for the teens until after they had spent a week in a juvenile detention facility. All are subject to house arrest while out on bail and ordered to have no contact with the victim, no Internet access, and not to come within 500 feet of the high school itself.
And that’s the latest news on Dr. Phil bails out teen beating ringleader.
Tags: cheerleader beating, dr. phil, mercades nichols
April 13th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Teens Bailed Out In Cheerleader Beating Case
April 13th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Sounds like Dr. Phil is so desperate for ratings that he’ll turn his show into the Jerry Springer show!
April 14th, 2008 at 6:38 am
[...] Dr. Phil Bails Out Teen Beating Ringleader – Dr. Phil McGraw’s staff bailed out 17-year old Mercades Nichols, the alleged ringleader in the [...]
April 14th, 2008 at 9:12 am
[...] April 14, 2008, 2:03 pm Posted by admin
Dr. Phil Bails Out Teen Beating Ringleader Dr. Phil McGraw’s staff bailed out 17-year old Mercades Nichols, the alleged ringleader in the savage cheerleader beating video that led to eight teens being charged with battery and kidnapping. Apparently, the producers thought they were booking the Jerry Springer show.
http://a11news.com/15/dr-phil-bails-out-teen-beating-ringleader/” [...]
April 16th, 2008 at 8:39 am
What in the world were these teens thinking about? It is a disgrace that any producers of a show would bail them out of jail. They need to be beaten like they beat that poor girl. If I was the parent of any one of those girls who did that cruel act, I would let my teen stay in jail so they would see it isn’t so funny. Dr. Phil’s producers should have used their brains and kept those teens in jail. That one parent(male) bad mouthing the sheriff needs to wake up and realize that his precious kid is not so precious but down right mean! If it had been their child beaten they would be ready to sue anybody and everybody.
May 3rd, 2008 at 2:57 am
[...] charged with battery and kidnapping. Apparently, the producers thought they were booking the Jerrhttp://a11news.com/15/dr-phil-bails-out-teen-beating-ringleader/Florida ,8 Teens Arrested For Beating GirlRe: Arrested Teens Speak Out, 8 Teens beat Up 16 year old [...]
May 9th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
[...] battery and kidnapping. Apparently, the producers thought they were booking the Jerry Springer show. http://a11news.com/15/dr-phil-bails-out-teen-beating-ringleader/ Dr. Phil Nightmare. He got four tickets to see a live taping of the "Dr. phil Show." I went [...]
March 25th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
dr phil is a complete moron. these girls belong in prison!
September 24th, 2009 at 10:53 am
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