N.H. man sentenced for role in drug shooting

A 34-year-old Charlestown man has been sentenced in connection with a June 2014 apartment break-in and shooting in Springfield, Vt., that injured a convicted drug dealer.
Related story: Home invasion suspect hopes to become better man
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N.H. Man Sentenced for Role in Drug Shooting Jabar Chandler changed his plea to guilty at a hearing at Windsor Superior Court in White River Junction, Vt., on March 10, 2015. He pleaded guilty to a felony charge of unlawful tresspass and plead no contest to aiding in the commission of a felony, in conjunction with the June 2014 shooting in Springfield, Vt. (Valley News - Sarah Priestap) Jabar Chandler changed his plea to guilty at a hearing at Windsor Superior Court in White River Junction, Vt., on March 10, 2015. He pleaded guilty to a felony charge of unlawful tresspass and plead no contest to aiding in the commission of a felony, in conjunction with the June 2014 shooting in Springfield, Vt. (Valley News - Sarah Priestap) Copyright © Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. By Jordan Cuddemi Valley News Staff Writer Wednesday, March 11, 2015 (Published in print: Wednesday, March 11, 2015) Email Print Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on gmail More Sharing Services 0 White River Junction — A 34-year-old Charlestown man has been sentenced in connection with a June 2014 apartment break-in and shooting in Springfield, Vt., that injured a convicted drug dealer. Jabbar Chandler pleaded guilty in Windsor Superior Court on Tuesday to a felony count of unlawful trespass for entering the Summer Street residence, and he pleaded no contest to aiding in the commission of a felony. He had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges. Authorities allege Leon Jiggetts, 26, of Newark, N.J., entered the residence with a 16-year-old in a dispute over heroin, and that Chandler was an accomplice to the crime. Jiggetts allegedly shot Joseph Atkinson, of Springfield, Vt., during the incident. Chandler also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor simple assault charge that stemmed from a separate incident. “Until recently, I’ve never paid attention to how much my decisions hurt my family and friends, and to those individuals, I offer my humblest of apologies,” Chandler said aloud in a packed White River Junction courtroom. Chandler said he came to the realization that jail time would make him either “a better criminal, a better man or an old man.” “I don’t want to be a better criminal, let alone an old criminal. ... I want my children and family to be able to say they’re proud of me,” he said. “To do that, I have to become a better man, so I’m going to use this jail sentence to the best of my ability in terms of bettering myself as a man, brother, son and father.” Defense attorney Eric Louttit said Chandler’s drive to change his behavior factored into his reduced sentence. Chandler has a prior record in New Jersey, including burglary convictions. Judge Theresa DiMauro sentenced Chandler to 10 to 20 years in prison, all suspended, with seven years to serve. He was also sentenced to 14 years of probation. “Both the state’s attorney and I saw redeeming qualities in Jabbar Chandler,” Louttit said after Chandler’s change-of-plea hearing. “We don’t believe that he is a wasted soul.” Windsor County State’s Attorney Michael Kainen and Louttit debated the length of Chandler’s probation sentence from the floor on Tuesday and ultimately met in the middle, settling on 14 years. That commenced Tuesday, meaning Chandler will be on probation for seven years after he is released from prison. “We don’t care what the probation length is,” Louttit said after the hearing, “because he is not going to mess up.” After court proceedings, Kainen said he thought Chandler should serve at least 10 years behind bars, but he reconsidered when it came time to determine the length of the sentence. Chandler will be about 40 years old when he is released from prison, which is the age when males tend to stop committing crimes, Kainen said. He added that holding Chandler in prison for an additional three years would be costly, with the potential for no real benefit. “It struck me that there was no real reason to hold out for 10 years,” Kainen said. “It gives him a chance when he’s 40 to make a new life.” At the end of Tuesday’s hearing, Chandler smiled at his attorney before exiting the courtroom through a back door. A sheriff then returned him to Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland, where he will complete his sentence. As part of the plea agreement, the state dropped a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Kainen said the state would have had trouble proving that Chandler pointed a gun at his girlfriend in the getaway vehicle after the break-in on June 11. The scuffle at the apartment building that day also caused non-life-threatening injuries to another man and woman who were present. Jiggetts is currently negotiating a plea deal with the state. Those negotiations are ongoing, Kainen said. Atkinson, 19, pleaded guilty in April to selling cocaine. Alex Jillson-Corbosiero, 18, of Springfield, Vt., pleaded guilty in November to his role as an accomplice in the break-in and was given a suspended sentence. Jillson-Corbosiero recovered a gun that was taken during the home invasion and discarded on a nearby street. Brandon Adams-Smith, the 16-year-old involved in the incident, was charged as an adult and pleaded not guilty in November to two felonies — burglary and assault with a deadly weapon — and is out on conditions of release. It was unclear on Tuesday evening if Adams-Smith had changed his pleas. The simple assault charge Chandler pleaded guilty to on Tuesday stemmed from an altercation in Springfield, Vt., on May 28, where Chandler broke another man’s jaw.