ROCKINGHAM — Authorities have filed a federal criminal complaint in court in Burlington against a multi-time convicted New Hampshire felon who was found toting away guns, jewelry and cash from a Rockingham residence last week, court records show.
Vermont State Police initially arrested Jabbar Chandler, 41, of Charlestown, N.H. on state charges of burglary, possession of stolen property and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, Trooper Eric Acevedo said.
Now, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has filed a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Burlington late Friday afternoon charging Chandler in the Windham County case with illegal possession of a firearm while being a convicted felon, records show.
Chandler is well-known to police. He is on state probation in Vermont for his part in a drug-related shooting case in Springfield in June 2014 that netted him a 10-to-20 year sentence with all but seven years in prison suspended, records show. The judge also ordered 14 years on probation once released. Prosecutors had charged Chandler with being a habitual offender because he had 13 felony convictions in New Jersey at the time, news accounts reported, but that was dropped by sentencing. Chandler and the shooter, who received a 10-year prison term, were two of the three defendants that broke into an apartment.
In the new federal case, ATF Special Agent Eric Brimo said Chandler had both a 20-gauge shotgun and a .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol as he exited the Rockingham residence with reportedly stolen property last week.
No date has been set for his initial appearance in U.S. District Court.
Chandler’s criminal record indicates he is a member of the “Bloods” street gang and should be approached with caution, Acevedo reported.
State troopers found Chandler with stolen property, including the shotgun, as he was leaving an unoccupied residence in Rockingham about 9:50 a.m. Aug. 30, Acevedo said. The resident called police to report the burglary after viewing the intruder inside her residence on her home security video system.
Brimo reported Acevedo found a red sports utility vehicle in the driveway when he responded and removed the keys from the ignition in an effort to hamper any attempted getaway by the burglar.
Acevedo then spotted a man coming around the house with a shotgun and a picnic basket, Brimo said. The suspect was ordered to the ground and taken into custody without incident.
The victim reported the picnic basket contained items from her home, including the .22-caliber pistol, three boxes of bullets, jewelry, and money, Brimo said.
Brimo wrote Chandler has multiple felony convictions in Vermont and New Jersey, including at least 4 cases of burglary or unlawful trespass. Chandler has convictions in Windsor County in 2015 for unlawful trespass into an occupied residence and aiding in the commission of a felony.
He has New Jersey convictions including burglaries in 2002, 2003 and 2011, Brimo wrote. He also has convictions for possession of controlled substances on school property in 2003 and 2008, receiving stolen property in 2003 and attempted aggravated assault in 2005, records show.
Chandler remained at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport as of Saturday.
Chandler’s accomplice in the 2014 drug shooting at a Summer Street apartment in Springfield, Leon Jiggetts, then-27 and a part-time Brattleboro resident, received a 10-year prison term after the attempted second-degree murder charge was reduced to aggravated assault.
Jiggetts, also from Newark, N.J., wounded Joseph “Black” Atkinson, then-19, in the stomach with a .45-caliber handgun over a heroin theft dispute, records show. Then-State’s Attorney Michael Kainen said he approved the shorter sentence because the case involved two convicted drug dealers and not an innocent person, news accounts indicated at the time.
Jiggetts, now 35, is due for release from the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport on Jan. 20, 2024, but is supposed to remain on probation for an additional seven years, according to the terms of his sentencing.