BSG officer shooting suspect indicted on murder charge

Virginia State Police spokesperson Corrine Geller said Monday that Chandler was responding to a 4 a.m. 911 call from a town resident who was concerned about the welfare of a female acquaintance.

Chandler, who was on patrol at the time, met and talked with the male caller on 8th Street in Big Stone Gap, Geller said. From there, Chandler went to a vacant house in the 2500 block of Orr Street and just outside town limits.

Geller said Chandler found White at the house’s driveway, where White allegedly shot him and fled on foot.

A Wise County sheriff’s deputy arrived at the scene and found Chandler unconscious in a ditch by the house’s driveway. He died about 15 hours later at Johnson City Medical Center.

The man who met Chandler before the welfare check is cooperating with investigators, Geller said.

The manhunt for White included the Wise County Sheriff’s Department, Virginia State Police, U.S. Marshals Service and the Kingsport Police Department before he was arrested in a Kingsport motel on Virginia and South Carolina probation charges about an hour after Chandler’s death.

Sullivan County Jail officials confirmed Nov. 14 that White was the man arrested in Kingsport.

White has been held without bond at the Abingdon Regional Jail since his extradition to Virginia on Nov. 15.

The aggravated murder charge against White carries a mandatory life sentence upon conviction. The Virginia General Assembly abolished the death penalty in 2021. White also faces a felony murder charge, which carries a prison term of five to 40 years.

White is scheduled for arraignment in Wise County Circuit Court at 9 a.m. on Tuesday for probation violation.

Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chuck Slemp III said Monday that no additional details are being released about the case.

According to Wise County court records, White was on two years’ probation for concurrent 10-year suspended sentences on grand larceny and conspiracy to commit grand larceny. According to a July 2020 Wise County grand jury indictment, White was accused of trying to cash a fake $598 check at a Wise County supermarket in August 2019.

White pleaded guilty to the charges in August 2021 and started probation then.

In addition to the two murder counts, White faces charges of possession of a schedule I or II substance with intent to distribute; possessing a firearm while possessing a schedule I or II substance; and shooting while possessing a schedule I or II substance with intent to distribute.

The grand jury’s firearm charges include shooting in commission of murder; use of a firearm in commission of aggravated murder; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession of ammunition by a convicted felon; misdemeanor brandishing a firearm; reckless handling of a firearm; and discharging a firearm in a public place.

Aside from the two murder counts, the remaining 11 charges carry a total of up to 80 years on conviction.

Dozens of law enforcement and emergency services agencies joined in three days of mourning Chandler’s death last week.

A motorcade escorted Chandler’s remains back to Big Stone Gap on Nov. 15, followed by a funeral service at UVA Wise’s David J. Prior Convocation Center that saw approximately 2,000 people pay respects during a five-hour visitation and funeral service. On Thursday, dozens of first-responder agencies from three states escorted Chandler’s casket and his family to a private graveside service.

In addition to being a firefighter, Chandler was a member of the Big Stone Gap Fire Department.

The State Police is continuing its investigation into the shooting, Geller said, and anyone with information related to this incident is asked to call the State Police at (276) 228-3131 or email at questions@vsp.virginia.gov.