ATLANTA - A sheriff's lieutenant who assigned himself as additional security for a rape trial was excused from work the day the defendant overpowered a deputy and began a deadly shooting rampage, authorities said Wednesday. The replacement for Lt. Gary Reid wasn't in the courtroom at the time of the shootings because suspect Brian Nichols' trial hadn't resumed yet and the judge was attending to unrelated civil proceedings, said sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Nikita Hightower. "What would have happened if Reid was there? I've often replayed that. Reid is a strapping man. Sharp. Big," said Michael Cooke, chief deputy of the...