PLATTSBURGH — A third person has been arrested and charged for their involvement in Jahfari Joseph’s death that took place late last year.
Chad H. Nichols, 40, of Vermontville, has been charged with first degree hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence this week.
Nichols was additionally charged in the Town of Franklin in Franklin County for the felony charges of Concealment of a Human Corpse, first-degree hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence.
Nichols was arraigned in the Town of Brighton before being brought to Clinton County Jail to await his arraignment in Clinton County Court, which took place Wednesday morning. Nichols eventually pleaded not guilty to the charges in Clinton County Court before Judge Keith Bruno. Nichols was represented by attorney Michael Phillips.
According to court documents, Nichols is accused of on or between Dec. 29, 2024 and Jan. 2, 2025, removing Joseph’s body from 646 Fuller Road in Peru, where Joseph is believed to have been shot and killed, with the intent to prevent, hinder or delay the discovery of his body.
Joseph, 40, of Plattsburgh was reported missing on Dec. 29, 2024.
Timothy Timmons, 61, was arrested in early January and charged with second-degree murder for the death of Joseph, but Joseph’s body was not found until Feb. 13, during a search along Route 26 in the Town of Franklin in the eastern part of Franklin County. Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said he had no idea why this location was chosen for Joseph’s body.
Earlier this week, Timmons’ ex-wife Kelly Timmons was indicted on charges of second-degree murder for acting in concert with Tim Timmons and causing the death of Joseph, and second-degree conspiracy for providing her ex-husband with the firearm used for the purpose of killing Joseph.
Wylie asked Wednesday that Nichols be remanded to Clinton County Jail and bail set while he awaits his next court appearance. Wylie said Nichols has a lengthy criminal record, including two previous failures to appear in court.
“I would ask in this case that bail be set in the amount of $25,000 cash, $50,000 bond, $250,000 of partially secured bond,” Wylie said.
However, due to the lesser severity of charges for Nichols, which are considered non-qualifying offenses under New York’s bail reform law, Judge Bruno elected to release Nichols on his own recognizance until his next court appearance in April.
Wylie told the media the Timmons family and Nichols have been associated with each other for “a while.”
“There’s a lot of moving parts with the individuals that are involved,” Wylie said.
“Some is drug related, some is just long-term relationships, and so Chad Nichols and Tim Timmons were friends, and Tim Timmons was able, I guess, to convince Chad Nichols to remove the body and dispose of it.”
Wylie said in his discussions with Franklin County District Attorney Elizabeth Crawford, she was going to be taking care of the concealment of a human corpse charge that Nichols is also facing in early March.