The two were originally charged with home invasion, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison upon conviction.
NORTHAMPTON – Two Springfield men who broke into a South Hadley home and robbed the occupants at gunpoint were sentenced to state prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to the resulting charges.
Daniel Chandler, 26, and Jeremy Gervais, 22, both pled guilty to two charges of armed robbery and a single count of breaking and entering in the nighttime to commit a felony in connection with the Jan. 14, 2010 incident. According to prosecutor Steven Gagne, the two men broke into an apartment on Lyman Street in the early hours of the morning intending to steal cash and drugs from the occupant, Steven Rondeau. Rondeau was not home at the time, however, but his 16-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter were. Also at the apartment was Ernesto Ayala, 18.
In his summary of the evidence, Gagne said Gervais and Chandler turned on the lights, waking up the two children. They then held guns on Rondeau's son and Ayala while stealing a flat-screen television, laptop computer, electronic gaming device and other items. Police arrested Gervais later that day and Chandler a few days afterwards, Gagne said.
The two were originally charged with home invasion, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison upon conviction, and armed burglary, which has a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence. The Northwestern District Attorney’s office brought the new charges without going to a grand jury and Chandler and Gervais pled guilty to them. Chandler will serve 8-10 years in prison. Gervais’ sentence is 8-9 years.
Gagne told Hampshire Superior Court Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty III that his office would have been justified seeking the greater sentences but brought the new charges after weighing the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence. Specifically, Gagne said a cooperating witness, the woman who drove the car to the crime scene for the defendants, has given conflicting accounts of the events.
Tanya Nitri, the witness, is still facing home invasion and armed burglary charges as a joint venturer in the crimes. Her case is still pending.
John Drake, who represents Chandler, and Jonah Goldsmith, the lawyer for Gervais, both told Moriarty that their clients are ready to give up their “street ways.”