Nicholas Michael Mimms was sentenced after a jury rejected his self-defense claim in the fatal shooting of Eduardo Figueroa.

CANTON, Ga. — A Georgia man who wore body armor to supervise his wife’s former fiancé during a planned child visit was sentenced April 15 to life in prison with the possibility of parole for killing him.

Nicholas Michael Mimms, 37, of Powder Springs, also received five additional years to serve and was ordered to have no contact with the family of Eduardo Gilberto Figueroa, the 31-year-old man he shot outside a Cherokee County home. The sentence closed the trial phase of a case that began with a parenting-time order, led to a fatal confrontation in August 2021 and ended with jurors finding Mimms guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The shooting happened at about noon on Aug. 7, 2021, outside a home on Mohawk Trail in the Acworth area of Cherokee County, where Figueroa had arrived for his first court-approved parenting time with the son he shared with his former fiancée, prosecutors said. The visit was scheduled from noon to 2 p.m., and Mimms, who had married the child’s mother, had been named to supervise it even though he had not met Figueroa before. Assistant District Attorney Megan S. Hertel said the two men came to the house with very different intentions. “Eduardo Figueroa arrived with love, excitement, and gifts for the son he was going to meet for the very first time,” Hertel said. “The defendant brought a bulletproof vest and a loaded gun.”

Prosecutors said Figueroa arrived just before noon with snacks, diapers, toys and a stuffed animal. The child and the child’s mother were not at the house. Mimms was outside on the deck wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with a firearm, according to the evidence described by the district attorney’s office. Figueroa was told the child was not there and began to walk away. Mimms then called him back to talk, prosecutors said. The encounter lasted less than two minutes, and Figueroa was shot four times in the side, back and arm. Cherokee Sheriff’s Office deputies who responded found him lying face down on the deck, dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

Mimms told deputies he acted in self-defense and claimed Figueroa had threatened him and was dangerous. Prosecutors said the evidence showed Figueroa was unarmed and posed no threat when he was shot. A surveillance camera captured audio of the gunfire and video showing Mimms’ demeanor immediately after the shooting. Jurors also saw the defendant’s bulletproof vest and firearm, the stuffed animal Figueroa brought for his child, crime scene photos, medical reports and surveillance recordings. The trial began Jan. 26 and lasted about three weeks. The jury heard from 25 witnesses, including law enforcement officers, medical experts, lay witnesses and others familiar with the events that led up to the shooting.

The jury returned its verdict Feb. 13 after about eight hours of deliberations. Jurors convicted Mimms of felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. They found him not guilty of malice murder. That verdict meant jurors did not find beyond a reasonable doubt that Mimms acted with malice, but did find that Figueroa’s death occurred during an aggravated assault. The court set sentencing for April, when Chief Superior Court Judge David L. Cannon Jr. imposed life with the possibility of parole plus five years. The judge also barred Mimms from contacting Figueroa’s family members.

Figueroa had recently established parental rights before the shooting, prosecutors said. The court-approved visit was supposed to be his first parenting time with the child he shared with his former fiancée. His family later told the court that he had looked forward to meeting his son and wanted to be part of the child’s life. District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said the shooting turned a day that should have been filled with smiles and laughter into a loss that changed the family forever. “This sentence ensures the defendant is held accountable for taking a father from his child and forever altering the lives of those left behind,” Treadaway said.

Figueroa’s obituary described him as a U.S. Army veteran, a former Ridgeview High School student in South Carolina and a Kennesaw State University student in the Computer Science and Engineering Department. He was pursuing game design and development and had hoped to work in video game design. Family members wrote that he also worked as a tutor and helped students with a caring but gruff personality. His mother, Elizabeth Arroyo, wrote that she felt fortunate to be the mother of “such a kind, beautiful human being and amazing father.” His sister wrote that he was loyal, close to family and excited about building a life around his son.

The case was investigated by the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Hertel, with assistance from Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Geoffrey Fogus of the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit. Prosecutors framed the case around preparation and contrast: one man arriving with supplies for a child, the other armed and wearing protective gear. The defense position, as described by prosecutors, was that Mimms believed he faced danger. The state argued that the physical evidence, witness testimony and surveillance recordings showed otherwise, and jurors accepted that argument on the felony murder count.

Nicholas Mimms is now serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole plus five years. The no-contact order remains part of the sentence, and the criminal case stands closed at the trial court level unless post-conviction motions or an appeal are filed.

Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.