28 October 2011



On 28 October 2011, a date which will live in infamy, The GAMe PLACe was suddenly and deliberately attacked by forces of the City of CWCville. On that fateful Friday evening, at around 5:20 p.m., Chris and Barbara visited the GAMe PLACe, where Chris had been banned since 2008. Chris had then recently heard that the shop was under new management thanks to sexual abuse charges being placed upon the previous owner, and he had hoped that his ban from the store could be lifted with a new appeal.

To Chris's horror, he realized that Michael Snyder was now the man in charge, meaning that Chris was effectively trespassing after Snyder told him in no uncertain terms that he was not to return. What happened next is still not completely clear, but Chris took a photo of the store and was escorted out, snapping an additional two photos of Michael Snyder in the parking lot. All hell broke loose when Chris and Barbara allegedly each hit Michael once with their car on their way out. When the Jerkops arrived, Barb assaulted one during their arrests in an effort to protect Chris. Both were subdued and arrested.

Chris and Barb were each charged with felonies, and Chris was also charged with additional misdemeanors, which meant they both were facing possible prison time. They were bonded out on 29 October, with Chris's initial hearing taking place one week after Barb's. The Chandlers were represented in court by Rob Bell, a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates.

On 10 July 2012, a plea bargain was reached. All of their charges were reduced to misdemeanors. Barbara was sentenced to community service and two years of probation. Chris was sentenced to community service, one year of probation, and mandatory psychiatric treatment and evaluation. They also had to pay for Michael Snyder's medical expenses. By the time all was said and done, most of Bob's inheritance was wasted on paying for a defense to justify Chris's personal vendetta against someone who tried holding him accountable for his actions. This, along with the subsequent fines, would later bite his surviving family in the ass with the advent of the Financhu Crisis a few years later.

The charges
Below are the charges brought against both Barbara and Chris, along with details and court dates based on the details from the General District Court Online Case Information System & Charlottesville City Circuit Online Case Information.

Barbara's

 * FAIL STOP ACCIDENT > $1000 FEL (§ 46.2-894. Duty of driver to stop, etc., in event of accident involving injury or death or damage to attended property; penalty. )
 * Class 5 Felony charge - Failing to stop after an accident where the damage exceeds $1,000 in value, from hitting Snyder with the vehicle.
 * Amended to Misdemeanor.
 * ASSLT: ON LAW ENF/DOC PERSON (§ 18.2-57. Assault and battery. )
 * Class 6 Felony charge - Assaulting a law enforcement official. This occurred when Barb attempted to prevent the police from arresting Chris.
 * Amended to Misdemeanor.

Court dates

 * 31 October 2011 - Appeared in court to be formally charged.
 * 15 December 2011 - 1:00pm - Judge Robert Downer Jr. granted a continuance for both Chris and Barb's charges.
 * 5 January 2012 - 1:00pm - Yet another continuance.
 * 5 April 2012 - 1:00pm - Another hearing. Both felonies go to a grand jury at Circuit Court.
 * 16 April 2012 - 9:30am - Indicted on both felony charges.
 * 10 July 2012 - 2:00pm - Arraignment. Felony charges reduced to misdemeanors.

Chris's

 * FAIL STOP ACCIDENT > $1000 FEL (§ 46.2-894. Duty of driver to stop, etc., in event of accident involving injury or death or damage to attended property; penalty. )
 * Class 5 Felony charge - Failing to stop after an accident where the damage exceeds $1,000 in value, from hitting Snyder with the vehicle.
 * Amended to Misdemeanor.
 * ASSAULT: (MISDEMEANOR) (§ 18.2-57. Assault and battery. )
 * Class 1 Misdemeanor charge - Attempted or actual assault against another person, probably Snyder.
 * TRESPASS AFTER FORBIDDEN (§ 18.2-119. Trespass after having been forbidden to do so; penalties. )
 * Class 1 Misdemeanor charge - Trespassing on land or within an area from which the offender is forbidden, no doubt due to setting foot in The GAMe PLACe.

Court dates

 * 7 November 2011 - Appeared in court to be formally charged.
 * 15 December 2011 - 1:00pm - Judge Robert Downer Jr. granted a continuance (postponement) for both Chris and Barb's charges.
 * 5 January 2012 - 1:00pm - Yet another continuance.
 * 5 April 2012 - 1:00pm - Another hearing. Nolle prosequi on the trespass and assault; the failure to stop goes to Circuit Court.
 * 16 April 2012 - 9:30am - Indicted on the felony charge.
 * 10 July 2012 - 2:00pm - Arraignment. Felony charges reduced to misdemeanors.

Civil suit
Michael Snyder also filed a civil suit against both Chris and Barb on 1 November 2011, 4 days after the incident. Barb attended a second hearing on 14 November, a third took place on 15 December, at the same time as her criminal case hearing, and a fourth occurred on 5 January at 1:00 PM.

Chris' case at one point read 'Other Judgement', however, it appears to have been open again. Presumably, Chris appeared again in court on 5 January 2012 at 2:15 PM, shortly after his criminal hearing.

Before the court hearing, Michael Snyder requested and received a Preliminary Protective Order against both Chris and Barbara. This order is similar to a restraining order, and prohibits Chris or Barb from contacting Michael or engaging in any threatening behavior towards him before the hearing. The order lasts for 15 days.

On 5 April, Snyder was awarded full Protection Orders against both Chris and Barbara. A Protection Order can last up to two years and violation of the Protection Order can result in both civil and criminal charges.

No further information on the civil suit has emerged since then, and with the Chandlers having been ordered to pay Snyder's medical bills as part of their plea bargain, it seems likely that the suit will not proceed any further.

Chris retaliates
On 4 November, soon after being bailed out of jail, Chris uploaded the pictures he took of Michael Snyder on the 28th to the CWCki, plastering them on the front page and the page on Michael. In the image descriptions, Chris taunted Snyder for his obesity and claimed that he molests children.

In the February Facebook leaks, Chris stated 'After October 28, 2011; I now have TOTAL Disrespect and Miscontent of the so-called "Officers of the Badge"' as opposed only to those in colors other than blue and black. He also produced 50 copies of a flyer calling the GAMe PLACe a "Cyber bullies' hang-out" and encouraging people to stay far away which he then left around his usual attraction locations. This led to another run in with Jerkops; Chris escaped by "hiding and weaving around the parked cars" and by driving a Mistubishi as opposed to Son-Chu.

Arraignment, plea bargain, and sentencing
The arraignments took place on 10 July. Two CWCki Forum members named Cyan and Indigo went to the courthouse and afterwards recounted the proceedings.

A plea bargain was settled upon because Michael did not want Chris and Barb to be stuck with felony charges. Upon sentencing, all five charges shared between Chris and Barb were reduced to misdemeanors. Rob Bell said that despite this, Chris and Barb maintain their version of the events as accurate. Before Chris's turn to speak, Bell referred to him as "high-functioning autistic" and then as an "adult autistic child", much to the chagrin of Chris. When the judge asked Chris if he understood that he had to pay Michael's medical expenses, Chris, in a stunning display of egotism even by his standards, replied something along the lines of, "Yes, but I don't think that thieving/bribing liar deserves a red cent!" He then begrudgingly pleaded guilty.

Barbara was sentenced to community service, two years of probation and was ordered to pay $474 in court costs; Chris was sentenced to community service, one year of probation, and mandatory psychological treatment and evaluation, plus jail time unless he complies, and he was ordered to pay $247 in court costs.

The next day, Chris wrote a note on Facebook confirming Cyan and Indigo's report. Chris claimed that Rob Bell confronted the two "trolls" and that the trolls will get arrested.

Email?
Someone purporting to be in contact with Chris leaked an email, supposedly from Chris himself, shedding some light on the events of October 28. While the validity of the email is disputed, Surfshack Tito confirmed on /cwc/ that the events of October 28 are basically the same as that described in the email.