Portsmouth man gets 17 years for hostage situation

PORTSMOUTH

A 50-year-old man who held his estranged wife and children at gunpoint during a four-hour standoff with police will serve 15 years in prison and 24 months in jail, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Vernon Ray Chappelle's attorney had asked the judge to give his client only the 13 years that were mandatory for the convictions for use of a firearm.

The man's father, Dorsey Chappelle Jr., testified that his son had been a good student and tutored math and science when he attended Norfolk State University. He said he had worked for the same company for years but suffered memory and mental health problems after an accident in 2002.

The prosecutor, Mary Harris, argued that Chappelle terrorized his family in the January 2008 incident and that when he agreed to let his children leave the house, his daughter stayed behind, believing her father would shoot her mother if she left.

A jury had recommended a 17-year sentence in November, after finding Chappelle guilty of three counts each of abduction and use of a firearm.

Circuit Judge James C. Hawks imposed the sentence and also gave him an additional three years on one charge, suspending it on the condition that he have no contact with his ex-wife and that he successfully complete post-release supervision.

The case had dragged on for four years, continuing more than 15 times while Chappelle went through mental-competency evaluations. He gave walking papers to at least five attorneys.

In the end, he agreed to work with Greg Matthews, a lawyer on the case previously. But by this week's sentencing, he was again asking for a new attorney.

The judge told Chappelle he had benefited from one of the best defense attorneys in the city.

During the sentencing hearing, Chappelle went through his pre-sentence report page by page, pointing out corrections he wanted to make.

He asked that his handcuffs be removed so he could turn the pages.

The judge declined, reminding him that he had taken a "leave of absence" during his trial in November.

Chappelle tried to run out of the court building on the first day and was stopped by deputies, according to court security officials.

He will be tried on a charge of escape from custody Feb. 15. He faces a maximum penalty of five years.

Janie Bryant, 757-446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com