'Preppy killer' Robert Chambers released from prison to halfway house in Rockland County
The so-called "preppy killer" Robert Chambers has been released from prison and assigned by the state to a halfway house in the Eckerson Road area of Ramapo.
Chambers, 56, spent about 30 years in prison — the last 15 years behind bars for possessing drugs and assault.
Chambers first spent 15 years in prison for the 1986 strangling of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin in Manhattan's Central Park, being paroled in 2003.
Robert Chambers spent 30 years in prison for manslaughter and later drug dealing
Chambers, then 19, claimed before pleading guilty to manslaughter that Levin died during consensual rough sex after a night of drinking, and then claimed he defended himself from her assault. A bicyclist found Levin's half-naked and battered body behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Chambers pleaded in a deal with prosecutors after a Manhattan jury couldn't reach a verdict after nine days of deliberations.
After serving his 15 years, Chambers was rearrested in 2007 for selling drugs out of his apartment. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison but was released four years early.
Details of his release
He got dubbed by media the preppy killer because of his privileged upbringing and lifestyle. He and Levin had been dating.
The state released Chambers on July 25 from Shawangunk Correctional Facility to five years of post-supervisory release, according to the New York State Department of Correctional and Community Supervision, once the parole department. His release was automatic as the Board of Parole has no discretionary authority with regard to release on a determinate sentence.
Chambers will remain under strict parole guidelines until at least 2028, according to records provided by the department. The restrictions include Chambers can't leave the state, possess a gun or drugs, act illegally, and must submit to requests and searches by his parole officer. If arrested, Chambers could be returned to prison, as before.
Rockland officials not informed
Rockland government officials said they had no say on Chambers's release to a state halfway house in the county and weren't informed. The office of County Executive Ed Day, a former New York City Police Department commander, released a statement from the county's social services commissioner, Joan Silvestri.
“The County of Rockland had zero discussions with the Department of Corrections concerning the release of Robert Chambers in Rockland last week, which is normally what happens under these circumstances," Silvestri said.
"We are not the district of financial responsibility and therefore no benefits are being paid by this administration for his housing or any other support in this County," she said.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal.
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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 'Preppy killer' Robert Chambers on supervised release for 5 years in Ramapo
