LOCKPORT — Jurors in the more than week-long Joshua Z. Chandler murder trial may hear from the accused killer later today.
The Lockport man’s defense team is reportedly considering calling him to the stand to testify about what happened on the night of July 3, 2023, when he is accused of killing another Lockport man outside a bodega at the corner of Locust and Walnut streets.
Chandler, 23, is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the shooting death of Rakeem Hamilton. He is accused of firing gunshots into a vehicle driven by Hamilton, 27, of Lockport, as he sat in his car with a female passenger.
The gunfire struck Hamilton, and a female passenger, who was hit in the face by the bullets.
Lockport Police patrol officers said they responded to a “shots fired” call at around 10 p.m. just outside a bodega near the corner of Locust and Walnut streets.
The first officers on the scene reported finding a female victim who had been “shot in the face.” That victim was rushed by ambulance to the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, where she was treated for her wounds.
Other responding officers reported locating a spent shell casing and then finding the body of Hamilton about 100 feet from where the female victim had been located. Hamilton was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators have not commented on what triggered the shooting. Testimony in the case has suggested that the accused killer and the victim were known to each other.
Sources with knowledge of the case have said the incident was a “targeted” shooting and not a random act of violence.
If Chandler does not testify today, lawyers in the case are expected to make their closing arguments to the jury.