Joseph Chandler, the man accused of shooting and killing 63-year-old Shirley Tucker, was released from D.C. jail Friday due to medical conditions.
Judge Herbert Dixon Jr. released Chandler into the supervisory custody of a friend of Chandler’s who volunteered to let him stay with her. Chandler’s daughters also agreed to share the responsibility of seeing that his medical needs are met.
A trial is scheduled for January 2014.
Chandler, 73, was arrested Dec. 6, 2012, a few hours after Tucker, his girlfriend, was found shot five times in an apartment on Maryland Avenue Northeast. He was later held on a charge of second-degree murder.
Court documents say Chandler told detectives that he and Tucker were arguing on the evening of the murder, when Tucker called him a “bitch.” Chandler then retrieved a .22 caliber handgun and fired several shots into Tucker’s body.
Days after his arrest, Chandler complained of chest pains and was hospitalized at MedStar Washington Hospital Center; he was later ordered to be held in D.C. jail.
Chandler appeared in court Friday in a wheelchair and often needed the proceedings repeated to him. William Roberts, Chandler’s attorney, said that his client’s medical condition requires him to take insulin, along with “13 different pills a day.” Chandler was released into the friend’s custody following the hearing.
The conditions of Chandler’s release requires him to make weekly phone calls to pretrial services, and to stay away from alcohol and firearms.
The case is scheduled for a status hearing August 29.
