March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Brian Nichols, the man suspected of killing an Atlanta judge and three others, is being held by the FBI after being captured by police this morning at an apartment complex northeast of Atlanta, a FBI spokesman said.

Nichols, 33, was apprehended in the Gwinnett County suburb of Duluth after a brief standoff, said Gwinnett County Police Chief Charles Walters. Walters said a blue Chevrolet pickup owned by a U.S. customs agent found slain earlier today was discovered at the apartment complex.

The Atlanta Police Department, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, will hold a news conference at 4 p.m. local time, said Steve Lazarus, an FBI special agent from the Atlanta office, in an interview.

``There's a variety of federal and state charges and it'll all be sorted out,'' Lazarus said, when asked why Nichols is being held in federal custody after being captured in Gwinnett County. Nichols was first transported to an FBI office in Decatur, Georgia, from Duluth, and then was taken to Atlanta.

The arrest ends a 26-hour manhunt that began when Nichols escaped from the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta in a stolen car.

Authorities went to the Duluth apartment after receiving a 911 call from a woman at the Bridgewater Apartments, who said Nichols had encountered her and forced himself into her apartment, Gwinnett County's Walters said.

Police responded to the scene and Nichols came out waving a white shirt once the Special Weapons and Tactics team arrived, Walters said. Police got the 911 call at 9:50 a.m.

Nichols is accused of killing Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes and a court stenographer at the courthouse in downtown Atlanta. A deputy was shot and killed soon after as he confronted Nichols on the street outside the courthouse, Atlanta Police Operations Chief Alan Dreher said yesterday.

The FBI's Lazarus said Nichols is also a suspect in the killing of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, who was found dead earlier today.

To contact the reporters on this story: Dan Hart in Washington at dahart@bloomberg.net; Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 12, 2005 15:03 EST