The man who police say fatally shot and killed three people, including a judge, and wounded a deputy at the Atlanta courthouse on Friday is a former Lexington resident and Newberry College football player, officials said.

Brian Gene Nichols, 33, played football for Newberry College in the early 1990s. He was arrested on April 18, 1994, and charged with first-degree burglary, Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said. It was his only arrest in S.C., state records show.

SLED Chief Robert Stewart said Nichols has connections in Newberry, Lexington, Richland and Sumter counties. A statewide alert for him had been issued.

In the 1994 burglary case, a police report said Nichols stole a VCR, portable CD player, speakers, compact discs, a watch and 11 cans of Sprite from a Cromer Hall dormitory room. The items were valued at $1,930.

Nichols still had an open 1996 arrest warrant from Newberry stemming from the burglary charge, records show.

Nichols, who had lived in the dorm, had been banned “after a series of disciplinary problems,” according to the police report.

Former Newberry head coach Mike Taylor would not comment on why Nichols was released and added that Nichols had already been recruited when Taylor came to the team in 1992.

“I inherited him,” said Taylor, who coaches at North Greenville College. “He played for me in ’92 and ’93 and in the spring of ’94, I released him from the team.”

A football program from the time period identified Nichols as 6-foot-2 defensive end from Baltimore.

But Henry Shull lived across the street from Nichols and his parents in Lexington for about three years in the mid-1990s. Shull said the family moved from the home about 10 years ago.

“I didn’t know him,” Shull said of Nichols. “I talked to his mom and dad some ... His mom and dad was real nice.”

At the time of his arrest, Nichols gave his address as 174 Freedom Drive in Lexington. The current resident, Sam Weathers, said he did not know Nichols or his family.

State Law Enforcement Division records list Nichols’ birthplace as South Carolina, but a booking report from the Newberry County Detention Center shows gave his birthplace as Maryland.

Richland County authorities said Nichols had spent time at a local residence. They would not specify the neighborhood.

“We’re on the lookout for him, like all other law enforcement officers,” Sheriff Leon Lott said.

Flashing interstate signs alerted motorists to watch for the fugitive and the car, a green Honda Accord.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Leach at (803) 771-8549 or leleach@thestate.com.