Highlands County Sheriff ’s Office Sheriff Susan Benton 434 Fernleaf Avenue Sebring, Florida 33870 863-402-7200 Dually Accredited www.highlandssheriff.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 5, 2015 Contact: Nell Hays, CPS Public Information Officer 863-402-7369 863-214-2533 Pizza Order Reveals Hostage Situation SEBRING At approximately 3:40PM on Monday, May 4th, an online pizza order was received by the Pizza Hut in Avon Park. Under the comments section there was a message asking them to send help and call 911 as they were being held hostage. Pizza Hut employees recognized the order as from a frequent customer however the comments were out of the ordinary so they called the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the situation. Deputies responded to the Pizza Hut and to the delivery location for the order. Upon arrival at the home, deputies were greeted by a female, Cheryl Treadway, carrying a small child in her arms. She related to deputies that her boyfriend, Ethan Nickerson, was in the home armed with a knife and Nickerson, Ethan Earl that her other two children were also in the home with him. After she was escorted to safety, deputies approached the home. Lieutenant Curtis Ludden began to speak with Mr. Nickerson through the closed door of the home. After about 20 minutes, Lieutenant Ludden was able to talk him into coming out peacefully. The other two children were then removed from the home, unharmed. According to the arrest report, the couple had been arguing throughout the day while Mr. Nickerson carried a large knife. When Ms. Treadway attempted to leave the residence to pick up the children from school, Mr. Nickerson grabbed her and took her cell phone. He then accompanied Ms. Treadway to pick up the children. Upon returning home, Ms. Treadway eventually convinced Mr. Nickerson to let her use the cell phone to order a pizza which is when she sent the message to Pizza Hut. Immediately after the pizza order was placed, Mr. Nickerson took the cell phone back from her. As a result of these events, Ethan Earl Nickerson, 26 years of age, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a weapon without intent to kill, battery, false imprisonment and obstructing justice by depriving communication to law enforcement. Chief Deputy Mark Schrader credits the quick thinking of Cheryl Treadway, in sending the text message for help, and the efficient quick response from Lt. Curtis Ludden, Sgt Dave Stewart., Deputy Robert Livesay and Deputy Chad Douberley; in bringing this feasibly violent situation to a peaceful conclusion.