UTICA - A 26-year-old Cornwall, Ont. man was sentenced to 120 months in prison for his role in the attempted robbery and killing of Daniel Simonds on May 13, 2008, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York Richard S. Hartunian and St. Lawrence County District Attorney Nicole M. Duve announced Tuesday.

Chad Edwards was sentenced last Friday in U.S. District Court in Utica.

He had previously pleaded guilty to an indictment that charged him with conspiracy toengage in a Hobbs Act robbery, and an information that charged him with possessing and aiding andabetting the possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

As part of his plea, Edwards admitted that early in the morning of May 13, 2008, he and several others planned to rob Mr. Simonds of a large quantity of Canadian-grown marijuana and money he hadstored at his residence at 649 Porter Lynch Road, Stockholm. Some of them went to Mr. Simonds’ residence, where they physically confronted him. Mr. Simonds was shot once by one of his aassailants during that confrontation, and he died later that day at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vt.

Edwards was the last of the seven defendants charged in the crime to be sentenced. Others were who were sentenced included:

Alan Jacobs, 36, of Hogansburg: 25 years;

Brian J. Latulipe, 28, of Bombay: 14 years;

Derek Cooke, 31, of Snye, Que.: 12 ½ years;

Kaientanoron L. Swamp, 29, of Snye, Que.: 12 ½ years;

Bryan Herne, aka Wildcat, 31, of Hogansburg 11 years;

Anson Edwards, 24, of Cornwall, Ont.: 11 years.

“We are grateful for the outstanding teamwork of our lawenforcement partners in this case, which brought to justice all of those involved in the robbery and killingof Daniel Simonds.” Mr. Hartunian said in Tuesday’s release.

The prosecution was the result of an investigation undertaken by the St. Lawrence CountyDistrict Attorney’s office in conjunction with the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s office, the New YorkState Police - Major Crimes Unit, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and St. Lawrence District Attorney Nicole Duve and Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Katko handled the prosecution on behalf ofthe United States.

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