SARASOTA, Fla. — A man in Sarasota who was facing charges for possession of child pornography died in a crash with a semi on Monday morning.
Florida Highway Patrol says Gerald Nicolas, 65, took his own life around 2:45 a.m. The incident led to traffic issues on southbound I-75 in Sarasota for several hours.
Nicolas was arrested by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday for 50 felony counts of possession of child porn.
Detectives arrested Nicolas after they received information that a particular IP address was used to upload illicit images. A search of Nicolas' home on Thursday revealed the images on his electronic devices.
He was released Thursday on a $50,000 bond.
Detectives said on Thursday they also believed Nicolas exposed himself to people at local beaches.
