Man denies home invasion charges

A Springfield man denied charges Tuesday he wielded a gun and threatened to kill a family during a home invasion.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100331/NEWS02/3310349                    # # # # Man denies home invasion   •  By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: March 31, 2010   •  WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Springfield man denied charges Tuesday he wielded a gun and threatened to kill a family during a home invasion.   •  Christopher L. Molina, 20, pleaded innocent in White River Junction District Court to felony charges of attempted armed assault and robbery and cocaine delivery, as well as a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession.   •  According to affidavits filed with the court, shortly before 5 p.m. on March 23, state police and officers from Chester, Springfield and Weathersfield responded to a report of a home invasion on Olive Street in Springfield. Police interviewed Harley Giddings, 25, who said that moments earlier, a car had pulled up to his house and three men he did not know got out and approached him, records state.   •  Giddings told police one of the men pointed a pistol at him and told him not to move, but instead he ran into his apartment and tried to close the door, affidavits state.   •  As the man tried to force his way into the apartment, he pointed his gun at Giddings' girlfriend, Tonya Chartier, 27, and the couple's 3-year-old son and threatened to kill them if they were not quiet, records state. Giddings told police he fought the man and tried to grab his gun before the man broke away and fled the scene, affidavits state.   •  Investigation led police to a woman who said she had spoken with Molina prior to the robbery and Molina had discussed his plans to rob Giddings and steal his OxyContin, affidavits state. Police received a warrant for the woman's telephone and recorded a series of conversations in which Molina offered to give the woman cocaine if she would recover his pistol from where he had left it, in the woods behind the Springfield Police Department, records state.   •  Police found a loaded Smith and Wesson .357 revolver and the woman called Molina to make plans to give him the weapon, according to affidavits. Instead of meeting the woman, Molina encountered state police and officers from Springfield and Chester, who found Molina in possession of 1 gram of cocaine, records state.   •  Police took Molina into custody without incident, and he reportedly confessed to his role in the attempted robbery, according to affidavits. He is being held in Springfield prison on $10,000 bail. His charges carry a maximum penalty of more than 13 years in prison and $85,000 in fines.   •  No one else has been charged in connection with the crime, said Heidi Remick, Windsor County's deputy state's attorney, who represented the state during Molina's arraignment.   •